I Really Like You
by Audraanime
Summary: Marinette and Adrien start to notice how one another is similar to their superhero counterparts. Who will figure out the truth first and how will it effect their civilian relationship?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Ladybug soared above the city streets of Paris anxiously looking for a safe place to drop her transformation. She and Cat Noir had just defeated an Akuma calling themselves Magnetic Mayhem. He was a worker in a high tech, high security company and after months of presenting new security ideas to his higher ups someone else had taken credit for his ideas. He was using electromagnetic powers to disrupt all the technology for blocks. In the end he was planning to set Paris back ages technologically.

Of course Ladybug and Cat Noir were able to fix everything. After the signature fist bump with her partner Ladybug took off, the beeping of her earrings warning her of her short amount of time left. She couldn't risk de-transforming in a place close to such a high security building though so she used her yoyo to swing half way across Paris looking for a safe place to change back to her civilian form. She sighed in relief when she spotted an alley way with just the right amount of cover for her to safely let her transformation down.

After landing she scanned the area to make sure no one could see and then with a "Tikki, spots off," and a flash a pink light Marinette stood in Ladybugs place.

"Oh, Tikki! I'm totally going to be late to class again!" Marinette said worriedly.

There had been a rise in early morning akumas lately and Marinette was running out of excuses for being late to class. Alarm didn't go off, having to help at the bakery, helping an old lady cross the street, and tripping and hurting herself on the way there had already been used in the past two weeks.

"Just tell them you were held up by the akuma. I'm sure everyone already knows there was one with Alya in class." Tikki suggested settling into Marinette's purse with her cookie.

Marinette had no time to think about whether or not the excuse was good enough as she focused all her energy on running to class. Her Ladybug luck wasn't with her as she arrived in her class room mere seconds after the bell rang.

"Oh look, its Late-inette. What's your excuse this time?" Chloe asked with a smirk and a hair flip.

Marinette managed to glare at the bully but she had no come back. Because of the recent akumas she had been late more often than not. Even without the akumas she was the type of person to be running late but it was becoming ridiculous.

"Chloe, there's no need for that. Marinette, why are you late?" Miss. Bustier asked.

"I um…well, there was an akuma, so you see um, I had to hide and wait until it was safe." Marinette stuttered through her lie.

Miss. Bustier and the rest of the class were looking at her half confused and half concerned.

"Liar. The akuma was nowhere near here or your house." Chloe sneered.

"Hey, the akuma was causing chaos for blocks. Scared people running away and the news report on it could've caused enough panic for her to need to stay home safe for a while." Alya said jumping to her friend's defense.

Marinette gave her a weak smile; she was grateful to have such a good friend.

"Girls, I can handle this thank you." Miss, Bustier said giving them both pointed looks.

"Sorry." They both muttered, Chloe's more halfhearted than Alyas.

"Marinette, what were you doing far enough away from home to be affected by the akuma?" Miss. Bustier asked clearly concerned.

Marinette could feel the stutter of incomprehensible words rising in her throat. She had no real excuse and would just ramble out whatever she could think of. This was not going to end well.

"Sorry I'm late." Came a welcome voice behind her.

She turned red as her crush Adrien Agreste walked up next to her. She was already embarrassed by being called out in front of the whole class but now with him here her nerves were even worse.

"And why are you late Mr. Agreste?" Miss. Bustier asked.

"I was in the bathroom." He said calmly.

She looked at the two with an exasperated expression. She shook her head and sighed.

"Both of you just get to your seats. You weren't too late anyway so I suppose it's not that big of a deal." Miss. Bustier said, the last part more to herself than them.

Marinette rushed to her seat settling in and starting to relax now that the attention was off of her.

"You owe me an explanation later. The truth." Alya whispered.

Marinette was thankful she had the whole day to think up something to tell Alya. She never was very good at lying and Alya knew all her tells so she had to think of something similar to the truth.

"Hello Alya and Marinette would you like to go to the café down the street with Adrien and I?" Nino asked very robotically.

Ever since Alya and Nino had gotten together offers like these had become very common, not that Marinette minded since it gave her a chance to hang out with Adrien in a casual way. It had even started helping her to stop stuttering around him…for the most part. The most problematic part about this was actually how bad Nino was at masking the fact that Alya had told him what to say. It made it very obvious that they were scheming to get Adrien and Marinette in the same place. Marinette just hoped Adrien was as oblivious to their friend's intentions as he was to her feelings.

"I would love to go, thank you for the offer Nino. What about you girl?" Alya asked.

"Oh, um…" Marinette hesitated.

She definitely wanted to go but she had planned to go home and take a nap. The akuma happening so early in the morning had her day dreaming about her bed.

"You still owe me an explanation for why you were late to class. You kept dodging my questions all day." Alya urged.

"Oh right. Okay, I can hang out for a while I suppose." Marinette said sheepishly.

"So why were you late to class?" Alya asked as they started on their way to the café.

"Well, maman and papa were busy with the bakery but they had an early morning order that needed to be delivered over there. I thought it would be a quicker delivery than it was but, I really did get held up by the akuma because of it." Marinette recited the lie she and Tikki had come up with.

"That doesn't sound like your parents at all. They wouldn't want you to be late to school. They should've known how long that would take you." Alya said.

"Hehe yeah, I guess they don't think as clearly in the morning." Marinette said nervously.

"It really sucks that there's all these akumas." Nino said.

"Knowing that our classmates are always in constant danger is really upsetting." Adrien agreed.

"You say that as if you aren't in constant danger too." Alya said smirking.

Just then a group of people ran past.

"She's crazy!" one yelled.

Marinette prayed it wasn't an akuma but her luck had run out as a girl appeared around the corner. The translucent butterfly mask around her eyes, a pencil in her hand, and notebook in her arm.

"Paris needs so much revision." She sighed though a smile was on her face.

"We should hide." Marinette and Adrien said in unison.

"Are you kidding? And miss the chance to see Ladybug and Cat Noir in action?" Alya protested.

Just then the side walk next to them ripped itself off the ground and crumbled turning into a gravel path. The group exchanged shocked and horrified looks before following another group into a nearby building. In the commotion Marinette separated herself from the group and snuck out a side entrance.

There were no well-hidden alleys on this block. She would have to run a block over. She peeked around the corner to see the akuma was busy looking at a building deep in thought. Marinette bit her lip and decided to take the chance and ran across the street. Unfortunately, she didn't reach the other side.

"Of course!" the akuma yelled and the buildings around Marinette came to life.

She felt a sharp pain on the back of her head and then the world around her went dark.

 ** _Authors Notes_**

 _ **I'm new to fan fiction I have two other stories on the site but those are the only fan fictions I've written so any feedback would be super appreciated. Let me know if you like it and if you think I'm keeping the characters in character. Thank you for reading though and I really hope your enjoying what you've read so far.**_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Adrien broke away before they even entered the building and went into the comic store next door using the back entrance. Knowing his image could be hurt by his love for comics he was used to using this back entrance. After making sure no one was around he let Plagg out of his jacket pocket.

"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien said.

With a flash of lime green light Cat Noir appeared in Adrien's place. He ran out of the comic store before anyone could see him. He was about to jump into battle when his blood ran cold. Marinette was laying in the street unconscious.

"M-Mari?" he whispered feeling frozen.

He abandoned his original mission of distracting the akuma until Ladybug arrived. His friend was hurt and that was far more important. He ran to her and scooped her up carrying her away from any danger.

"Mnnm. Cat Noir?" Marinette said softly.

"How're you feeling Princess?" he asked trying not to show just how concerned he was.

She touched the back of her head and flinched.

"My head hurts. What happened? Why are you…carrying me?" she asked.

Cat Noir relaxed a little it was a good sign that she was becoming more aware of her surroundings. He figured they were far enough away now and landed on the sidewalk setting her down against a building.

"You got hurt somehow by the akuma. Which begs the question: what were you thinking? You were supposed to be hiding!" Cat Noir chastised her.

"I-I'm sorry. Wait if you're here though- Cat you need to be fighting the akuma!" Marinette said suddenly seeming panicked.

She went to stand up but Cat Noir put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I will. You stay here though. Don't move unless you need to get to safety. You said your head hurts right? I'm not sure what happened but you could have a concussion." He warned.

Marinette nodded and relaxed back down. Cat frowned and made a mental note to check on her later. He gave her a smirk and salute before heading back to the akuma.

"Hey, I really liked that salon, how am I supposed to keep my locks so soft and bouncy now?" Cat Noir asked, landing just as the girl changed a salon into a pet store.

The girl closed her eyes and huffed in annoyance before turning to him with a scowl.

"If it isn't Cat Noir." She said, her voice bored. "How nice of you to show up."

"Hey, normally I get more of a reaction than that. No anger or shock or happiness? You know I'm one of Paris' heroes and I'm going to stop you, right?" He asked.

"You do realize I'm basically in control of reality right now, right?" she said rolling her eyes.

"Okay now your indifference actually wounds me." He said using his baton to catapult himself towards her.

As soon as he landed in front of her he swung his leg around to try to sweep her legs out from under her. She easily jumped over his kick though. So he swung his baton at her and she ducked under that attack.

"Bad kitty. You need a time out." She said a smile crossing her face.

She quickly scribbled in her notebook and a cage appeared around Cat Noir keeping him from being able to pursue her any more. Just then Ladybug flew in from out of nowhere and landed in front of the cage.

"Oh hello Ladybug nice of-" the akuma started.

Ladybug shot her yo-yo forward and it wrapped around the akumas pencil which Ladybug then pulled into her grasp.

"What are you." The akuma growled.

"I don't have time for this." Ladybug said clearly uncomfortable.

She snapped the pencil in half and a little purple butterfly came flying out.

"No more evil doing for you little butterfly." Ladybug said capturing the butterfly with her yo-yo and purifying it. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Everything righted itself and now that he was freed Cat Noir made his way over to Ladybug.

"Pound it." He said holding up his fist.

"Ow. Not right now Cat. You could handle clean up right?" she asked grimacing.

"Hey hey, are you okay M'lady?" he asked.

"Can you handle the rest or not?" she snapped.

Cat recoiled and his ears flattened. Was she mad at him? Maybe she was just irritated because of whatever else was wrong but it still hurt to be snapped at like that. I mean, they hadn't even said hi to one another yet and she was snapping at him.

"Ugh. I have to go." She said flinching as she touched the back of her head.

She zipped off leaving Cat with a weird sense of déjà vu.

 _ **Authors Notes**_

 _ **Honestly this chapter was a little rushed and short but writing from a guys point of view is surprisingly difficult for me. Or maybe it's just that we know more about Marinette since the show primarily follows her?**_

 _ **Anyway please leave some comments if you enjoyed it and let me know if there's anything I can improve on too. I hope you all are enjoying reading since I'm really enjoying writing this**_ ^-^


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Marinette was sitting at her desk attempting to do some homework but she was distracted. She sighed, put down her pencil, and started to pace around her room.

"Are you really still worried about Cat Noir?" Tikki asked concerned.

"How could you tell?" Marinette asked solemnly.

"Well, you can't be worried about Alya or Nino or Adrien since you've already checked in with all of them. You've only sighed a million times in the last hour and when we talked earlier we established that this was bothering you. Just apologize the next time you see him." Tikki said.

Marinette shook her head sadly. She felt horrible for how she spoke to him earlier but she couldn't help it. Even after using her Miraculous Ladybug charm she had a pounding headache from when she was knocked out earlier. She was frustrated that the pain wasn't gone immediately and she felt faint, most likely from the energy she exerted. She would be worried that she had a concussion like Cat had said but about fifteen minutes after she got home the pain was gone. That's when the guilt over how she had treated him set in and it had been eating her for hours.

"I know Tikki but I feel bad about it now and he's probably hurting over it now. Waiting until later to fix it when it's causing problems in the present is so…frustrating." Marinette said sinking down onto her chaise.

"Marinette there's nothing you can do about it right now though. We don't know if he's transformed right now and if he's not there's no way for you to find him anyway. You guys have a patrol planned for tomorrow. I think that's soon enough." Tikki said rubbing against her Chosen's head comfortingly.

Marinette was about to say more when she heard a knock coming from… above her? Tikki instantly hid and Marinette went up to her balcony shocked by who she found.

"Cat Noir?" she asked confused.

Cat Noir was leaning against the railing looking at her. It wasn't the first time he came to her balcony but she didn't expect him to show up again. The last time it was another time she had unintentionally hurt him as Ladybug. While she liked being given the chance to make him feel better she didn't want to make a habit of comforting him as Marinette. Spending too much time with him as a civilian was too risky.

"You weren't where I left you Purrnciss." He said.

Marinette was relieved to see that she hadn't actually worried him by leaving without telling him. He wouldn't have turned the nickname into a pun if he actually wanted to scold her.

"I didn't know I was supposed to wait for you." She answered honestly.

"How is the knight in shining armor supposed to check on his princess if he doesn't know where she is?" he teased.

Marinette could tell that while he was trying to keep his voice light something was bothering him; his smile didn't really reach his eyes. She hated to think it but it was probably her words weighing on him. She wanted nothing more than to make him feel better, especially since it was her fault in the first place.

"Your princess was feeling better and you know where her castle is." She said smirking.

His eyes widened a little in shock but as he looked at her he started to smirk. Her cheeks started to burn a little and her smile faltered. Had her words gone too far?

"So you are my princess then?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows.

"So what are you really doing here silly kitty?" Marinette asked after rolling her eyes.

Cat tilted his head to the side as if confused.

"Are you insinuating that I would be here for any reason other than to make sure you're okay? You were hurt earlier and I was worried about you." He said seeming sincere.

"Oh… well, I'm okay. Of course I would be though. The Miraculous Ladybug charm always fixes everything right?" she said nervously. "You…you seem a little down though. Are you okay?"

Marinette didn't know if she should really have asked if he was okay since he didn't offer up the information. He was her friend though and she wanted to make sure she made him feel better until she could properly apologize.

"I'm fine. Ladybug was just a little short with me but I don't think she really meant to be. It seemed like something else was…on her mind so…" he ended it with a shrug.

"Oh, well, at least you understand it wasn't anything you did then." Marinette said trying to give him a reassuring smile.

"Of course. I can tell when Ladybug is annoyed or irritated by me personally. After all it's happened often enough." He said jokingly.

"Yeah, you two are pretty close. I bet you can tell what the other is thinking without even trying. That's probably why you two are so in sync when you're fighting. It must be a really nice relationship to have." Marinette said trying not to give away that she knew more about the superheros relationship than the average citizen.

"Don't go getting jealous now Princess." Cat said.

She wanted to say that his relationship with Ladybug wasn't something she was jealous of but she didn't want to risk hurting him as Marinette as well.

"Shouldn't you be telling Ladybug not to get jealous? After all she's the one you're really after right?" Marinette said instead.

"That's true of course. We'll be getting a lot closer from here on out though." Cat said mischievously.

"What do you mean?" Marinette said not liking the sound of that.

"Do you consider us friends Princess?" Cat asked seeming a little more serious for once.

"Yes." Marinette answered a little too quickly. "I m-mean you've saved me and my classmates a bunch of times and I'm super thankful for that and you visited me a couple times and saying we're just acquaintances doesn't seem right because of that-"

She was so worried she had said something wrong that she did the weird rambling she always did. Luckily she was cut off by Cat laughing.

"It's cute when you ramble like that." He said through chuckles.

"No, it's embarrassing." Marinette mumbled her cheeks turning pink as she pouted.

"The reason I asked though is that I consider us friends and seeing you hurt today really worried me. You've been targeted by akumas before too. It seems to me you get into trouble pretty often." Cat said glancing at her.

"Heh, yeah I guess I'm pretty unlucky." Marinette said, finding it ironic that he was worried about her when she fought akumas all the time.

"Well, because of that I think you need to be watched over a little more." Cat said.

Marinette was shocked by this and was completely not okay with it. What if he checked in on her when she was transforming or something?

"Have you talked to Ladybug about this?" Marinette asked.

"No. She probably would be against it though and… You're my friend Mari. I'll just check in every now and then to make sure you're okay. Are you okay with this?" He asked.

Even though he was a cat he was totally giving her the sad puppy eyes. Something about the sincere care in those green eyes made it hard to say no. She knew it was dangerous.

"Okay. As long as it's only every once in a while." Marinette said.

Cat perked up at her positive response and she found his happiness made her feel warm inside too.

"Thank you Princess. It takes a huge weight off my shoulders." He said his smile finally reaching his eyes.

Marinette was glad she had chased away his lingering sadness over her earlier insensitivity.

"Well, as long as you're sure you're feeling better now after the incident today I'll be taking off." Cat said giving her an inquiring look.

"I am definitely feeling fine. No aches or pains since I've been home." Marinette said giving him a smile and nod.

He took off and she stood there watching him and then something struck her about the conversation they just had. Her smile fell and her eyebrows furrowed together.

"He…did he call me Mari?" she muttered to herself.

 ** _Authors Notes_**

 ** _I really hope you all are enjoying reading these. I'm not really sure if they're that great since I'm used to doing a lot more editing with my original works. I figure simpler is better for fan fiction but let me know if I'm wrong about that lol. Let me know if you like the length of these chapters or if you think they should be longer or shorter. All comments, follows, favorites, and support is appreciated. Thank you all._**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

By the time Marinette was rushing to school the next morning she had convinced herself even if she did hear Cat Noir call her Mari yesterday it was no big deal. It's not like he didn't know her name and Mari was a common nickname that people gave her. Everyone she had known had probably called her Mari at least once. Even if she did think the way he said it felt a little familiar.

"Hey girl, look at you being on time and everything." Alya said teasingly.

Marinette sat down next to her friend with a smile. The comment would normally bother her but the fact that there was no akuma this morning had left her in a good mood.

"I guess wishing on stars really does help." Marinette said jokingly.

"Good morning Mari. Are you feeling better?" Adrien asked taking his seat in front of her.

Marinette couldn't help the light blush that crept onto her cheeks. The attention from Adrien was nice and the fact that he was genuinely concerned about her made her warm inside. That nickname though…she mentally shook herself. This was not time to think of some masked kitty, Adrien was paying attention to her.

"Heh, yeah, I mean, I still hurt for a little while after the akuma was taken care of but I'm thinking it was just, like residual pain or something." She said nervously.

She touched the back of her head at the memory. It really didn't hurt anymore but she could remember the pain really vividly.

"See, this is why you need to stick closer to me when there's an akuma." Alya said in a scolding tone.

"You literally follow akumas around in order to get footage for the Ladyblog. Sticking close to you would only put her in more danger." Nino pointed out.

"I would protect her!" Alya said crossing her arms.

"I don't need to be protected." Marinette said shaking her head.

Though she found her friend's antics amusing she didn't like how everyone lately was treating her like she was a glass doll. She was Ladybug! She protected Paris all the time so she was the last person needing protecting. I mean, her friends didn't know that but still.

"Really?" Adrien asked.

"Is that your way of offering to protect Marinette?" Alya asked smirking.

"I-I just mean it would make sense to want to protect your friends and to want your friends to protect you in return is all." He said seeming a little flustered.

Something about the situation made Marinette uneasy. Normally the daydream fuel would've made Marinette ecstatic but instead of paying attention to the light blush on Adrien's cheeks she just felt puzzled. It was like she sensed that there was more she was supposed to be seeing in the situation. It was like she found a clue without knowing what mystery she was trying to solve.

"Okay class, it's great to see all of you are here on time today." Miss, Bustier said seeming cheerful.

The first couple classes went by without any problems but then a ruckus broke out in the hallway. Marinette saw some older students running down the hall through the window on the classroom door. Everyone looked from the disturbance to the teacher.

"I'll go see what's going on. You guys stay here." Miss. Bustier said giving them all a pointed look.

Once Miss. Bustier was out of sight Marinette wanted to shoot into action. She knew in her gut there was an akuma. There always was when chaos like that broke out.

"I need to go to the restroom." Marinette said standing up.

"Mari, Miss. Bustier said to stay here." Alya said.

"But-" Marinette started.

"After you got hurt yesterday you wanna go missing when something is clearly going wrong in the school. I don't think so girl. Sit your butt back down." Alya said giving her a look that said there was no point arguing.

"She's right Mari, just wait until Miss. Bustier gives you the all clear." Adrien said.

Marinette sat down with a huff and tried to keep her nervous fidgeting to a minimum. Maybe she was wrong, maybe it wasn't even an akuma. It could totally have been a science experiment gone wrong or something. As time went on and Miss. Bustier still hadn't come back everyone in the room got more tense.

"Maybe someone should go make sure Miss. Bustier is okay." Marinette suggested.

"No Marinette. If there's a huge problem Ladybug and Cat Noir will take care of it." Alya insisted.

BOOM! The whole school shook with the force of that blast. That was it, Marinette couldn't just sit there anymore. She needed to do something to get out of the class. There was no point being sneaky since no one seemed to want to let her leave no matter what her excuse. While everyone was preoccupied with reacting to the explosion Marinette just got up and bolted out the door.

"Marinette!" she heard Alya and Adrien call after her.

She didn't care she ran into a nearby locker room and let Tikki out of her purse.

"Tikki, spots on!" She yelled.

The familiar pink light transformed her into the Parisian superhero.

She ran out of the locker room and in the direction students had been running from earlier. She started seeing some…strange things as she headed in that direction. Flour, honey, bread, all sorts of food just scattered across the floor.

"That's right! Eat until you literally feel sick!"

Ladybug peeked around the corner to see a girl with a chef hat and apron pacing a room filled with people eating. Miss. Bustier was among them and she didn't look like she was enjoying herself. None of the people did, it was like they were being forced to eat. The food looked great though.

"Ladybug!" Cat Noir called.

The chefs eyes shot towards the door and Ladybug wasn't able to duck away quickly enough.

"Oh yay! Some more people to taste my food!" The girl said chipperly.

"Sorry, I'm not very hungry at the moment." Ladybug said.

She had to close the door to block food that the girl shot out of the whisk she was holding.

"Cat Noir what are you doing yelling like that when there's an akuma around!?" Ladybug asked.

"Sorry M'lady but… have you seen Marinette around?" He asked worriedly.

"What?" she asked shocked.

"You know Marinette, have you seen her?" He asked again.

Was Cat Noir really looking for her instead of focusing on the akuma?

"I'm sure she's safe in her classroom with everyone else." Ladybug said.

"No she took off." Cat Noir said.

Ladybug was about to ask how he knew that when the door was broken open and an explosion of oranges flew out.

"Lets focus on beating this akuma, the best way to save everyone is to defeat the akuma." Ladybug said as they ran down the hall.

"Right, right. So what's the deal?" Cat Noir asked as they ducked around a corner.

"So, she seems to somehow be able to force people into eating her food. She can also shoot food out of her whisk so I'm guessing that's where the akuma is hiding. I don't know how she's forcing people to eat her food but I think it's safe to say we should avoid touching her food at all costs." Ladybug said.

"Well, yeah, no one wants to get hit in the face with a coconut." Cat Noir said smirking.

"Come on out you two! Aren't you hungry? My food is really yummy now that I've been granted this power." The girl cooed.

"Cover me Cat?" Ladybug asked.

"Of course M'Lady." He said nodding.

"Lucky Charm!" she said throwing up her yo-yo.

This of course alerted the akuma to their position but Cat was already ready so when she turned the corner and shot tomatoes at the two he blocked them easily. Unfortunately, Ladybug wasn't sure what to make of the lacrosse stick she was given. She looked at the food all around them, at Cat, and at the girl…who was also dodging the food.

She scooped up some of the nearby food.

"Cat stop blocking." She yelled and hurled the food towards the girl.

Luckily Ladybug and Cat were able to dodge the still incoming food but the girl wasn't expecting her own food to be hurled at her and she was hit on her left shoulder. She stumbled a bit before a look came over her face of sadness.

"So hungry." She said.

She dropped her whisk as she started picking up the food and eating it.

"Cataclysm." Cat Noir said and turned her whisk to dust.

Out came a butterfly which Ladybug captured and purified.

"Pound it?" she asked holding out her fist.

"Pound it." Cat Noir said giving her a smirk.

"Wh-what happened?" the girl asked.

Cat Noir and Ladybug looked at each other, neither of them really knew what brought on the akuma.

"All you need to know is everything is okay now." Ladybug said touching the girls shoulder reassuringly.

Just then her earrings beeped. She turned to Cat Noir.

"Hey, I have to go but I'll see you for patrol tonight right?" Ladybug asked.

She still had to properly apologize for the other day.

"Wouldn't miss it for anything M'Lady." He said bowing.

She couldn't hide her smile as she ran off to turn back into Marinette. She hadn't completely ruined things between her at Cat and that took a huge weight off her shoulders.

 _ **Authors Notes**_

 _ **Hey guys, like always I hope you enjoyed and any feedback is so so so appreciated. So this update is way later than I wanted it to be but I've been sick for the past four days. Some kind of sinus thing or cold maybe. I'm nearly 100% better now so I kinda typed up this whole chapter in the last hour haha. I wanted to make sure you guys knew I wasn't intentionally not posting more chapters. If this chapter seems lack luster that's why though. Let me know what you think regardless.**_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Adrien was furious, though no one would know it by looking at him. He was good at masking his negative emotions. Those closest to him could only tell something was wrong because of how he was acting. Silent and distant, he could just be preoccupied but when he did answer the answer was short.

He was wondering how to approach Marinette about her reckless nature. Would it be weird for him to scold her as Adrien or as her friend would it make sense? Would it be more or less weird to approach her as Cat Noir?

"I swear I don't know what I'm going to do with you girl! You made me sick with worry. What is wrong with you." Alya yelled when Marinette appeared back in the classroom.

Alya wrapped her friend in a hug and then held her at arm's length and glared at her. Adrien watched from his seat as Marinette shrunk under her friend's gaze. He took a little bit of satisfaction in the fact that someone was at least making her feel guilt over her behavior. He had shown up moments before her hoping she would already be back.

"I'm sorry Alya. I just couldn't sit here anymore when Miss. Bustier could've been in trouble." Marinette said weakly.

"You aren't a superhero though Marinette. We all were so worried you would've been hurt. Adrien even ran out after you." Alya said turning for a moment to glare at him. "Don't think for a second you've gotten out of a scolding."

Adrien was shocked out of his anger by that. Marinette was looking at him with wide shocked eyes and he felt embarrassed for various reasons.

"You went after me?" Marinette asked almost in a whisper.

"Well, yeah, I didn't want you getting hurt so I was going to try to stop you from getting to far. You're really fast though so I lost you." Adrien explained.

"What is wrong with you!? You could've been hurt. You should've stayed here were it was safe." Marinette said.

Adrien probably would've felt grateful at the sincere concern on her face or found it ironic that she was worried for him, a superhero, getting hurt but he was too upset for that. Did she not hear herself? The hypocrisy of her yelling at him for doing exactly as she had done.

"Marinette, if you remember I went after you. After all of us told you to wait here and let the hero's handle the saving." Adrien said.

He was getting ready to ruin his reputation and show how truly upset he was with her. Scolding anyone, even a classmate could be a bad idea but he was done with holding his feelings in.

"And what if one day they don't show up!?" Marinette snapped.

This shocked everyone into silence. Alya for one looked concerned more than anything. Marinette looked almost like she was about to cry.

"What if one day they can't make it on time? What if one day they don't show up? I can't sit back and just wait for them to save us all the time." Marinette said.

She turned and walked out of the room. Adrien may have followed her if he wasn't so utterly confused. Did she really think that Cat Noir and Ladybug would ever just not show up? Did she have so little faith in him? He felt a little hurt by her lack of faith.

By the end of the school day she still hadn't returned to class and while Alya assured him she would check on Marinette and let him know if she seemed okay he knew he had to visit her as Cat Noir. He knew it was out of character for Marinette to explode like she did but the fact that Alya was concerned told him just how out of character it really was.

Of course he had his lessons he had to complete first so by the time he had a chance to transform and check on her it was getting dark and Alya had already told him Marinette seemed fine. He didn't care though. With protests from Plagg he transformed and Cat Noir was on Mari's balcony in no time.

Her lights were on so he tapped on the trapdoor that led to her room. The slightly panicked sounds coming from her room let him know she had heard him.

"Cat, weren't you just here the other day? You said you weren't going to come by all the time." She said frowning at him as she came up to greet him.

"Yes that was our deal wasn't it. Until I found out you had a penchant for searching for trouble. I heard a lot about you today." He said.

He found himself smirking down at her rather than seriously scolding her like he wanted to. Her pout was just too cute; it took all the edge out of his anger.

"I don't go looking for danger." She said crossing her arms.

"So running out of your classroom and disappearing and worrying all your classmates while an akuma is attacking your school isn't you looking for trouble. Huh, it sounded a lot like looking for trouble to me." He said crossing his arms as if to mimic her stance.

"You have no right to criticize me Cat Noir. You risk your life all the time to save people." She said.

She leaned against her railing looking out at Paris. Cat Noir stared after her for a moment. He felt like he was supposed to be getting more out of those words. Maybe there was a double meaning he wasn't getting from it? He shook his head and went to stand next to her.

"But princess, I have super powers. If I get hurt…well it comes with the job. You don't have to risk your life to save others because that's what Ladybug and I are for." He paused for a moment. "Unless for some reason you think Ladybug and I are unreliable in that department?"

His ears flattened against his head. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer. He nearly jumped when he felt something against his arm. He looked over to see Marinette had decided to rest her head against his arm.

"Silly kitty. I have so much trust in you." She said a soft smile on her face.

"What about Ladybug?" he asked trying to ignore his burning cheeks.

She sighed and stopped leaning on him. His smile faltered as the place she had just been became cold.

"I trust Ladybug more than I trust myself. Why are you asking?" she asked turning curious eyes on Cat.

He smiled sheepishly, he figured she would ask that question if he pushed it too far. He just didn't think too far was only two questions.

"I heard from some birdie that you said something at school after the akuma attack. Something about Ladybug and I maybe not being there one day. Sounds like you don't have much faith in us." Cat Noir said trying to make it sound light.

"Oh. That has more to do with me not wanting to wait for someone else to do the saving. There's no guarantees. You save Paris everyday so you should know exactly what I mean." She said.

They stared out at Paris together for a moment before Marinette turned to him a smirk on her face.

"Don't you have somewhere you're supposed to be tonight?" she asked.

"Oh shoot! Patrol with Ladybug! I'll see you later Mari!" he said hastily as he immediately took off.

"Bye kitty." She said turning to go back to her room.

It wasn't until Cat Noir was already at the meeting spot on the Eiffel tower that he realized something a little strange. How did Marinette know he was supposed to patrol with Ladybug tonight?

 _ **Authors Notes**_

 _ **Thank you for the well wishes I'm definitely feeling better with just some sniffles and a tickle in my throat at this point. Should be back to full health in the next couple days. But hey look at me posting 2 chapters in two days :). Lets see if I'm able to keep this pace up lol. Don't hold me to that. Once a week is what I'm hoping for and even that is pushing it. Let me know what you all think though. I really do appreciate all the feedback more than you think.**_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Ladybug landed on the Eiffel Tower to find Cat already waiting there. He seemed to be pondering something but as soon as he heard her land he turned to her with a flirtatious smile.

"Hello, M'lady." He said as she came to stand beside him.

"Hello kitty. I-I wanted to talk to you about the other day." Ladybug said some nervousness showing in her voice.

After his cheerful greeting she wanted to pretend like nothing ever happened. She didn't want to upset him all over again but it seemed wrong for her to not apologize at all. She wanted to make sure he heard it from her that she was sorry. He had said he knew she wasn't irritated with him but still he would feel better hearing confirmation of that from her, right?

"What about the other day?" Cat asked tilting his head.

"Well, it's just that I snapped at you and that wasn't right of me. It's just that I had a headache so I was irritated even before the battle started." She said her voice trailing off at the end.

She hated how unsure she sounded when she was supposed to be confident as Ladybug. She just hoped her vague explanation would be good enough for Cat. She couldn't go into more detail even if he wanted her too though.

"Oh, well I kinda figured it was something like that." He said, though he did seem to have a weight lifted off his shoulders.

"I just want you to know that I wasn't mad at you. I thought it might have hurt you that I ran off like that and I never want to hurt you." She said hurriedly.

He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Hey, I know you. You're not the kind of person who would intentionally hurt anyone, especially your friends." Cat said.

"Thanks Cat. I'm lucky to have you watching my back. I'm glad we're friends." She said giving him a grateful smile.

Cat's chest swelled with happiness. Those words from her filled him with warmth and hope.

"I'll always have your back." Cat said.

Ladybug couldn't help it, she laughed. He had no idea just how much he was helping her both in superhero and civilian form.

"I know you will Cat. More than you realize. You ready to start patrol?" she asked.

Without waiting for a response she swung her yo-yo, ready to head to the Louvre Museum.

"What do you mean more than I realize?" he called after her.

As he followed after her he knew full well he probably wouldn't be getting an answer.

"A quiet night for once. Let's hope tomorrow morning will be akuma free too. I can't stand those early morning akumas messing up my morning routine." Ladybug sighed.

Cat and Ladybug landed on a roof overlooking the Seine to wind down after the patrol. Cat loved these moments with Ladybug, when they could be together without any distractions an although Ladybug would never admit it she enjoyed these moments too. When most of the time they spend together is spent defending Paris it's easy to forget that they aren't just partners but friends.

"Having trouble getting to school on time M'lady?" Cat asked smirking.

"Something like that. What about you Cat? Aren't all your late nights not allowing you to get enough sleep?" Ladybug asked.

She smirked thinking he would just assume she meant the late nights spent on patrol. She liked having her own secret meanings behind her words that he wouldn't get. He tilted his head to the side and his smile faded a little as he studied her though.

"No. I'm used to not getting much sleep to be honest." He said somberly.

"Why?" she asked but then shook her head. "Sorry, no personal information. I, um, I'm sorry you tend to not get much sleep."

"I mean; I wouldn't mind revealing more about our personal lives. You're the one who's so against it so if you ask I'm willing to answer." Cat said gently.

Ladybug looked down at her hands in her lap and bit her lip. The urge to know more about him was there but it was too dangerous for them to know one another identities. Now that Cat was visiting her civilian self any piece of information she told about herself could be a big hint to him of who she really was. If Hawkmoth found out who either one of them was and could get to the other…

"It's too dangerous Cat. I'm sorry." She said genuinely.

"Can you just tell me one thing then?" Cat asked.

Ladybug looked at him expectantly. She couldn't honestly answer whether or not she could answer whatever he asked.

"Do I…" his voice trailed off and his ears flattened. "Never mind."

"What is it Cat? You should know you can talk to me about anything." Ladybug said encouragingly.

"No really. It was stupid and honestly you probably wouldn't feel comfortable answering it. Besides, like you said neither of us get to sleep much and its getting late so we should probably head home for the night." He said giving her a fake smile.

"O-okay." She said.

They stood up and fist bumped. She watched him go before rushing home keeping a good lookout on the way home. Once in her room she detransformed and changed into her pajamas.

"Tikki, do you have any idea why Cat started acting so weird at the end of patrol?" Marinette asked as she climbed into bed.

"I'm sorry Mari but only he knows that. I can't read his mind for you." Tikki said nuzzling her chosen's cheek.

"Yeah, that would make things too easy wouldn't it?" Marinette sighed.

"Heh, don't worry too much about it. Try to get some sleep." Tikki said flying into her little nest in Mari's drawer.

Just as she laid down and closed her eyes there was a knock on her trap door. She shot up, there was no way he was back here tonight. She slowly opened the trap door and there he was, ears down leaning against the railing looking out at Paris.

"Really Cat?" she asked coming up next to him.

"Sorry Mari, I really tried to just go home but I had to talk to someone and besides Ladybug you're the only friend I have." He said giving her a solemn smile.

"Cat, that's not true is it?" she asked searching his eyes worriedly.

"Oh, well, as Cat Noir…sorry. God I must've sounded like a loser." He said.

"Don't worry me like that kitty. If I was all you had I don't know what I would do." She sighed.

"I didn't say just you." He said raising an eyebrow.

Marinette's cheeks instantly turned red. She leaned forward trying to let her hair fall forward to hide it.

"Yeah well, Ladybug doesn't count since she's a superhero too." She said trying to sound playful.

Unfortunately, she realized it sounded almost pouty. Suddenly she felt the nice sensation of her hair being played with. She looked over and Cat was running his hand through her hair.

"Sorry, it just looks nice down. I shouldn't have done that." He said quickly pulling his hand away.

"Its okay…it felt nice. My maman used to play with my hair to put me to sleep when I was little. I've always liked it." Marinette said quietly.

Cat smiled but didn't reach out to continue and Mari felt a little disappointed.

"So why are you visiting me twice in one night?" Marinette asked.

"I don't even know if I can say why honestly." He said avoiding looking at her.

"Cat, you came all this way just because something was bothering you. Obviously you want to talk about whatever it is that's bothering you. You should know you can talk to me about anything." She said putting a hand on his arm.

He looked at her with wide green eyes and she gave him an encouraging smile. His eyes seemed to scan over her face and then finally lock unto her eyes. Marinette started to feel a little uncomfortable under his stare but she didn't want to turn away from him. He needed to know he could talk to her about anything.

"I think I know Ladybug in our civilian lives." He said.

Anything but that. Did he figure her out? Did he see her transform when she got home? How did he figure it out? Should she ask him? Did he really know it was her? She shouldn't give it away just in case. Oh God this was the worst thing he could've asked.

"Well, I'm sure it's possible but there's a lot of people in Paris that she could be." Marinette heard herself saying.

She felt like all her blood drained from her. She felt almost far away. This was the last thing she wanted to happen.

"Yeah but something tells me that I know her better than she wants me to know." He said still not looking away from her.

"Haha why would she not want you two to know each other better? Wouldn't it make you guys better partners then?" she said trying to sound as little like Ladybug as possible.

"Its dangerous for us to know each other's identities according to her." Cat said.

"Oh I suppose that could make sense." Marinette said.

Oh God how do I get out of this?

"How about you Princess? Would you like to know who I am under the mask?" He asked.

Suddenly she felt like she was on fire. She looked up at him with shocked eyes.

"No Cat! What if an akuma found out I knew and captured me to force me to tell them your identity? We already know I'm danger prone how could you suggest that!" She said angrily.

Cat chuckled a little at her outburst.

"Calm down, Princess. I was only joking. I have a feeling Ladybug wouldn't be very pleased if I revealed my identity to you." Cat said smirking down at her.

"It wasn't a funny joke and I'm sure she would be mad." Marinette said pouting.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you. I'll let you get back to bed. See you tomorrow morning, Princess." He said bowing and kissing her hand before taking off.

"See you tomo-" Marinette stopped mid-sentence.

Tomorrow morning rang in her hand as she watched him take off. She should've been mad, shocked, some mixture but she just felt numb in her disbelief.

Cat Noir went to school with her.

 _ **Authors Notes**_

 _ **Way sorry for the late update you guys. My job at the school has been crazy the past week so I kinda just wanted to relax on my free time but hey its not like its been two weeks or anything. As always thanks for all the support. If you like the story so far leave a comment to let me know. If you dont like it leave a comment to let me know. Please just leave a comment to let me know what you think. This chapter honestly is not my favorite but it gets better from here I promise. Thank you all for reading and an extra thanks for any feedback!**_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

The next day as Marinette trudged to school she was an odd mix of paranoid and half asleep. She had been up all night thinking about what Cat said before he left. The only reason she was awake and getting to school on time was because she hadn't slept.

"Stupid cat." She muttered as she almost tripped up the stairs again.

She had gone over all the possibilities. Maybe he was just someone who was going to stop in the bakery that morning but the bakery was surprisingly empty before Marinette left for school. Maybe she just normally saw him on her way to school but the way he said it made it seem like they would actually interact in the morning. It only made sense that they went to school together.

She slid into her seat next to Alya and laid her head on the table top. Exhaustion and frustration were going to be tough to get over during the school day.

"Okay. Do I comment on your hair or your sleep deprivation first?" Alya asked hoping a joke would brighten Marinette's spirits.

Marinette lifted her hand to her hair.

"Oh, I left it down today." She mumbled dropping her hand back to the table top.

"Okay so I should comment on the sleep deprivation. What's going on girl? Give me the scoop." Alya said.

Marinette tensed at those words. First Cat was putting her nerves on edge by suggesting he knew who Ladybug really was and now Alyas word play made her think of her interviewing her alter ego. She was really going to need a day to recuperate.

"I uh, just had a lot on my mind last night is all." Marinette sighed lifting her head up.

"Good morning Marinette." Adrien said sliding into his seat in front of her.

"Good morning Adrien." She said mustering up a smile for her crush.

"Your hair looks nice like that." He said quietly.

"What a gentleman for not commenting on the bags under her eyes." Alya said teasingly.

Marinette watched Adrien with furrowed eyebrows. Was that a hint?

"I mean dudettes hair does look nice down though." Nino said.

Marinette shook her head. Cat Noir couldn't be Adrien. The silly Cats words just were making her paranoid. And hey, maybe that was his whole plan. He was a playful kitty after all so maybe he was just trying to mess with her and didn't realize how far it would go. Now she was starting to feel silly for worrying about it all night.

"Did you have a rough night?" Adrien asked seeming genuinely concerned.

"Not really. I just had a lot on my mind. You know when your mind is racing how any sleep you get isn't really restful." Marinette said giving him a weak smile.

"Yeah, I have those kinds of nights a lot. If you want to talk about what was on your mind you know you can always talk to me." He said seeming a little nervous.

Marinette felt a blush coming to her cheeks. He was probably just trying to be a good friend but that kindness is what she liked most about him to begin with.

"Thanks Adrien. For ya know caring about me." She said.

Her cheeks felt like they were on fire when she realized what she had just said. God that probably sounded so weird.

"I'm literally right here!" Alya said.

Marinette jumped at her friend's sudden outburst. She turned to her best friend eager to fix the misunderstanding that offended her.

"I-I didn't say that you didn't care. It's just that, I mean, your my best friend so I expect it, not to say I don't appreciate it because I totally do, it's just that I haven't known Adrien as long so I didn't really expect it, not to insinuate that he isn't caring and everything but-" Marinette rambled.

Adrien was stifling a laugh and Alya was smiling shaking her head at her best friend.

"Girl, I was joking. You get worked up so easily." Alya said playfully.

"At least her nervous tick is cute." Adrien said letting a chuckle escape.

"Well, aren't you getting brave Mr. Agreste." Alya said smirking.

Marinette didn't know what to think. Cat had once said her rambling was cute too. She was just reading too much into everything because of what Cat said last night right? There's no way Adrien Agreste the nice, interesting, talented, innocent cinnamon roll of a model was Cat Noir. Cat Noir was flirty and cocky and emotional…nothing like Adrien. But Cat was kind, earnest, loyal, and friendly…all things Adrien had proven to be too.

"Yo, Mari are you okay?" Nino asked.

"Huh, oh yeah." She said flustered. "Must just be the lack of sleep making me spacey".

Just then the bell rang and Miss. Bustier began class which Marinette barely focused on. She was tired and her thoughts kept drifting back to an irritating black cat no matter how hard she tried to focus.

Luckily the school day ended without an akuma attack and Marinette was looking forward to a much needed cat nap.

"Oh Marinette, tomorrow Nino, Adrien, and I were going to go see that new superhero movie. Did you want to come? Maybe we can grab a shake or something before the movie and have some girl time." Alya suggested.

"Yeah, it's been awhile since just you and I hung out." Marinette agreed happily.

"Great. See you tomorrow around 5ish?" Alya asked.

"Sounds good." Marinette said.

She watched as Alya practically skipped to Ninos side and they walked away hand in hand laughing at some inside joke. Marinette sighed.

"It must be so nice to have that with someone." Marinette said as she watched them.

Marinette was more awake and alert than she was when she was walking to school that morning and she found herself looking at Paris as if it was new to her. Instead of walking past all the familiar places she actually looked at them and wondered how Cat might fit into them. She couldn't picture him as a normal civilian. He was too rambunctious and carefree while flinging himself all over Paris to just have a normal day job the rest of the time.

"Hi sweetie. How was school?" Sabine asked as her daughter walked through the doors.

"Hey maman. School was okay. I'm just really tired so if you guys don't need any help down here I think I'm going to go take a nap." Marinette said giving her mom a hug.

"Okay. Don't sleep too long though. You have to make sure you finish your homework and get a good night's sleep tonight." Sabine said returning her daughters hug.

Marinette fell asleep as soon as she laid down and when she was woken up by a tapping on her trap door she actually felt rested. Of course that didn't mean she was any less irritated by the person she suspected was the source of the noise.

"Cat Noir." She said as she opened the door.

"Hello Purrncess." Cat said cheerfully.

"I thought we agreed these visits weren't going to be an everyday occurrence." Marinette said dryly.

"Are you really so annoyed with me coming to see you every day?" He asked.

His tone was playful and his ears were still perked up. Clearly he didn't really think she was annoyed by him. That meant she didn't have to worry about hurting his feelings.

"Yes." She said deadpan.

"What if I brought presents?" Cat asked mischievously.

Marinette was about to turn him away when a rain drop hit her nose. She actually paid attention to her surrounding beyond the cat on her balcony. Dark storm clouds were gathering in the sky.

"You better come inside before you get soaked." Marinette said motioning for him to follow her inside.

She panicked for a moment when she remembered her wall of Adrien but then remembered she had toned it down quite a bit lately. There was still the framed picture and a couple magazine clippings but not nearly as much as there used to be.

"So the stray has gotten into my house." Marinette said playfully.

"I'm not a stray, I have a house to return to if I wanted to play the role of house cat for a day. I just prefer to roam the streets of Paris freely." He said smirking back at her.

"So why are you here this time Cat?" Marinette asked sitting down on her chaise.

"Honestly, just didn't want to be home and I figured I could come check on you. Maybe hang out for a bit." He said.

"Why do you think I would need to be checked on today? There weren't even any akumas." Marinette said patting the spot next to her.

"How do you know there weren't any akumas today? Maybe there was one on the other side of Paris." Cat said as if he caught her in some trap.

"My best friend is Alya. She's the one who runs the LadyBlog. If there was an akuma I would've known." Marinette said calmly.

"Well, to be honest a little birdie told me that you didn't sleep well last night. Apparently something was bothering you and well…I'm sorry if I kept you up too late." He said still not sitting down.

"It's okay Cat." Marinette said.

She wasn't going to lie to him and tell him that he wasn't the reason she hadn't gotten any sleep. She thought about asking him about what he said last night but she was kind of afraid of what answer she would get. What if he wasn't messing with her? She would rather blissfully believe that he was messing with her then get confirmation that she might not be able to handle.

"You said something about presents?" Marinette said after a moment of silence.

"Well, a new video game came out yesterday and I just so happen to have some connections. As an apology for making you lose some sleep I figured you could beat me in the game." Cat said holding up a game.

Marinette couldn't stop the grin from filling her face as she saw the title. Ultimate Mecha Strike 4.

"How did you get that? It's been sold out for weeks because of preorders." Marinette said.

"I preordered it. I knew it was your favorite game and I enjoy playing it so." Cat said shrugging.

"Cat stop that." Marinette said frowning.

"What?" He asked though he seemed a little guilty.

"I don't know if you're just trying to mess with me or if you're seriously trying to drop hints that I know who you are as a civilian but you need to stop. Telling a random civilian who you are is so dangerous. I can't even imagine how Ladybug would feel. Telling someone in the first place but then telling someone who you are before you tell her… Cat, I like hanging out with you but if it's going to risk your identity then we can't." Marinette said seriously.

Cat's ears had went down half way through her scolding and she felt bad but she had to put a stop to this before it got too out of hand.

 _ **Author's Notes**_

 _ **Hey guys thank you all so much for the support. Every time I see that number of favorites and follows go up I feel so appreciative that people really like what I have to offer. Even just seeing the number of people that have read it on a given day gives me so much joy. The comments are especially encouraging though. Especially when they're saying how they can't wait for the next chapter. Now a heads up the next chapter may take quite a while to come out. My wrist has been giving me problems for the past three days and my mom suggested it could be carpal tunnel from working on a register and then coming home and typing all the time (I have more projects then this one that I work on) so I may need to cut back on how much I write everyday. Thank you for the support and patience you guys 3**_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Cat didn't promise to stop but instead shifted to conversation back to the video game. Marinette took that as confirmation that he would stop, at least for the time being. She knew he didn't want her mad at him and if he thought of her at all like he did Ladybug she knew he respected her wishes even if he didn't like them.

After about 20 minutes of beating Cat at the game she was starting to admit she liked hanging out with him. They talked while they fought and she enjoyed his company and his banter.

"So besides a certain Cat keeping you up how's everything else been?" Cat asked after losing again.

She understood he wanted to have more meaningful conversations and since he couldn't offer up anything about his personal life she decided she could at least open up more about her personal life.

"Pretty good. There's a hoodie and skirt that I just got the material for so I'm going to be starting on those soon. They should be pretty fun to make too. The skirt is going to have lots of layering going on. School is the same as always. Trying not to get mad at Chloe, trying to stay calm around Adrien, trying to get as much time in with Alya as possible. Oh, and I guess trying to get good grades too." Marinette giggled.

She took down Cat's character again. Much to easily this time. She looked over at Cat, he looked a little down and also a little confused.

"Um…Cat? Is everything okay?" she asked tentatively.

"Oh. Y-yeah." He said giving her a fake smile. "So any plans for the weekend?"

She set her controller down as it became apparent Cat was no longer interested in the game.

"Yeah." She answered, watching him carefully. "I'm going to see a movie with a group of my friends. Alya and I are going to hang out alone for a bit beforehand. She'll probably tease me and hype me up about going to see a movie with Adrien."

"Wow. Does this Adrien kid really make you that uncomfortable?" Cat asked.

He tried to smirk and seem playful but Marinette could tell he was worried. She felt a little grateful for his concern but she wanted to make it clear Adrien wasn't someone giving her any trouble.

"No! Well, not uncomfortable in the way you're thinking at least. He's actually a really good friend. He's friendly, smart, creative, always helping and encouraging people. I could go on and on about all the way's he's wonderful." Marinette said before sighing and looking down solemnly. "That's why I get so nervous around him. I mean if it was just that he was famous and his dad is my favorite designer I could probably be perfectly composed around him. But he's such an amazing person. Somehow even after a rough start he forgave me and we became friends but sometimes I can't even talk to him. Because, I'm just Marinette."

When Marinette snuck glances at him she saw him looking at her in disbelief. He was silent as if processing everything she had just said. She started to blush as she realized how much of her heart she just spilled to him.

"Marinette, have you told any of this to him?" Cat asked finally.

"No way!" Marinette said waving her hands in front of her. "I could never say all that to him."

Her cheeks turned a bright red at just the thought of her confessing all that to him.

"Maybe you should. While I'm sure he would appreciate all the praise he would have a similar reaction to me about you saying you're 'just Marinette'. He wouldn't like it." Cat said.

He was trying to push away the warm feeling her praise had given him so he could help her with her problem. He wanted her to be more comfortable around him too after all.

"Well yeah he wouldn't like it. Only because he's humble and nice. He doesn't see how the poise he has while standing up to Chloe when she's being mean inspires people. He doesn't realize that when he laughs the room gets brighter. He doesn't see that the work that he puts into making friends leaves a mark on all of us. Compared to someone like him I'm nothing." Marinette said.

"Don't you ever say that!" Cat snapped.

Marinette looked up at him shocked to see the angry look on his face. He looked angry but almost like he was about to cry at the same time.

"W-what?" Marinette asked confused.

"Don't you ever say you are nothing. You're amazing. You're kind, brave, selfless, and talented. You would do anything to protect those you love and you've proved it. Yes, you have put yourself in danger but you've done it with every intention of keeping those close to you safe. You've given everything you have to help people. Your designs are creative and then to actually be able to take a design and turn it into clothing is not as easy as you make it seem. Wasn't one of your designs chosen by Gabriel Agreste himself to be in his fashion show? No one else your age can say that! You're amazing Marinette and anyone who thinks different is an idiot. I know Adrien thinks so too." Cat assured her.

Marinette was blown away by the conviction he said all that with. He really believed everything he said. He thought all that about Marinette. He wasn't talking about her alter ego, the one that normally got the praise. As she looked at him she felt a smile and blush on her face.

"Thanks Cat. A superhero saying I'm amazing means a lot." She said.

A loud boom made them both jump and look towards Marinettes window. They were too busy before to notice just how bad the storm outside had gotten. It was so dark and there was so much rain they could barely see the building next door.

"Looks like you'll be stuck here with me for a little longer kitty." Marinette said getting up.

"I'm pretty sure you're the one stuck with me." Cat countered.

"I don't think of it that way though. You already said you see me as a friend and I see you as a friend too. I don't mind your company." Marinette assured him.

She rummaged around on a self for a moment before turning to him with two movies in hand.

"Okay so we could watch a scary movie or we could watch a superhero movie with way more explosions than you and Ladybug will hopefully ever have to face." Marinette said.

"Superhero movie. I'm not a huge fan of horror movies. Especially when thunder in the real world can jump scare me at any moment." Cat said seeming a little embarrassed.

"Oh. Are you a scaredy cat?" Marinette teased already taking the superhero movie out.

"Hey I already feel lame about it no need to rub it in." He said jokingly.

Marinette put the movie in and grabbed a lap blanket from her bed. She laid it over herself and Cat. Halfway into the movie she was leaning against Cat absentmindedly.

"They make it look so easy." She mumbled.

"Mari, it's time for dinner." Sabine called from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll tell them I have homework or something to work on. That way I can bring some food up to you and you won't be lonely while I'm gone." She said getting up.

"No!" Cat said quickly.

"What?" Marinette asked worriedly.

"It's just that you shouldn't miss a meal with your parents on my account. I can just wait here until you're done. It's really no big deal." He said.

Something about the way he looked at her convinced her to follow his advice.

"I'll bring you some desert at least." Marinette said as she left "Oh! And don't go through my things!"

Cat Noir smirked at the thought of such mischief but crossed his heart as a promise.

 _ **Authors Note**_

 _ **Hey guys so my wrist is all better. I had a long week as I had to get ready for a charity walk for suicide awareness that we were doing in my little sisters memory. I had to make shirts and make sure everyone was there and whatnot. But my schedule is clear (besides the normal work and boyfriend time) and my health is back to normal so uploads should go back to usual. Let me know what you think of the new chapter though. This one was a little shorter than usual but not by too much so hopefully you guys don't mind.**_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

While Marinette ate dinner with her parents Cat Noir took the time alone to think some things over. Things had gotten so out of hand. He was supposed to just be keeping Marinette safe but then he got some hints that she may be Ladybug so he wanted to verify that suspicion by spending as much time with her as possible. He was starting to think that was just wishful thinking though. The pieces still fit but they weren't making the right picture.

Marinette was great in her own ways as Cat had mentioned but she was different from Ladybug. Ladybug was confident and graceful and sassy. Marinette was amazing but not in the same ways Ladybug was amazing.

So if Marinette wasn't Ladybug why did he still want to be around her so much? Was it because they were friends? I mean that made sense right? She was calmer around him as Cat and even if her being flustered around Adrien could be cute her being relaxed made it easier to talk to her. But then why could he hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears when she was leaning on him and why was he so disappointed when she leaned away? Was he just so starved for attention that when he finally got it from anyone his joy was just amplified? No because he never felt that way when Chloe showed him attention.

All he knew is that the rain was letting up and although the thought of going home never gave him much joy he was never so saddened by the thought of leaving a place.

"Hey Cat." Marinette said opening the hatch to her room.

"Welcome back Mari." He said smiling at her.

"I come bearing treats." She said setting down a plate with two cookies on it. "Maman was a little suspicious about me wanting two cookies but I convinced her I just had a real sweet tooth tonight."

"Thanks. Your parents seem really nice." Cat said taking one of the cookies.

"They are, though if they found out a boy had been up in my room all day without them knowing they may be a little less nice." She said teasingly.

She seemed to want to say something but then she just took her cookie from the plate instead.

"Um, is there something on your mind?" Cat asked.

The rooms vibe changed when she did that. The air seemed to get cooler and she seemed more solemn.

"Well, it's kind of dumb but I wanted to ask about your family but I can't. I know it's my own fault since I'm the one who wants to keep uh, your identity safe but I still wonder. Even though I logically know that it would be bad to know more about you as a civilian I still think it's kind of sad I can't know more about you." Marinette said.

"Well, I could always keep it vague if that would help?" Cat said hopefully.

Marinette would normally shut that down but she was tired of not knowing anything about him. She was being worn down and if he could promise to be vague enough not to give himself away. Well, she could indulge both of them a little bit right?

"Okay. So long as you really can stay vague about it." She said.

Cat Noir never thought he would be so happy to share some of his civilian life with Marinette. I mean, Marinette already knew him but having someone know his superhero persona on a more personal level felt comforting.

"Well, my parents are nice but…they're distant. My father is always busy and my mom… it's been quite some time since I've seen her." Cat Noir said.

Hopefully that wouldn't hint too much to his identity. Not that he would mind if Marinette knew who he was but he didn't want her to get too mad at him again.

"I don't know what to say Cat. That's so sad. I'm sorry." Marinette said giving him sympathetic eyes.

"It's okay. I stay busy with my own things anyway." He said quickly not wanting her to pity him.

"Okay. If you say so." She said seeming unconvinced. "Do you want to finish the movie?"

"Plagg, claws in." Cat said after landing in his bedroom.

He had enjoyed the last of his time with Marinette, though he noticed he was hyper aware of her every move. Sharing more about his personal life seemed to upset her a little, though not in the way he was expecting. She seemed more concerned about him now.

"Ugh. I don't know what to do Plagg. My emotions are all jumbled." Adrien sighed.

"From what I've observed that's called being a teenager. Congrats." Plagg said.

He quickly flew over to where his camembert was waiting for him and scarfed down a piece happily. Adrien sighed dramatically and collapsed onto his couch to sulk. The kwami rolled his eyes at his chosen's theatrics. As much as Plagg tried not to get too attached to his chosen's the kid was sneaking his way into a corner of the kwami's heart. Plagg huffed and gulped down another piece of camembert before floating over to Adrien.

"Look kid, you better listen up because this isn't going to happen often. I'm going to give you some advice from my infinite wisdom. Don't hurt pigtails." Plagg said.

"I don't intend to hurt Marinette." Adrien defended.

"I know. Here's the thing though. You have to look at her as if she isn't Ladybug and if you don't still like her if she isn't Ladybug then stop pursuing her." Plagg said.

"But what if she is Ladybug? Then that means I do love her." Adrien said.

"No. You don't. You either love this girl if she isn't Ladybug or you don't." Plagg said almost in a scolding tone. "Look, pigtails is your friend and you don't want to lose that. If she isn't Ladybug and she finds out you were only interested in her because you thought she was, then you're going to lose her friendship. If she is Ladybug and finds out you were only after her because of her superhero persona, you'll have both Marinette and Ladybug mad at you."

Adrien let his words sink in. He hadn't done anything to actually pursue Marinette yet because he wasn't sure of whether or not she was Ladybug. He was glad he hadn't done anything yet. He didn't want to lose her friendship. He wouldn't do anything until he was sure of his feelings.

"Thanks Plagg." Adrien said happily.

"Ew. Don't make me do anything like that again." Plagg said flying into his little home while hiding a small smile.

As Adrien laid down he thought about what he was going to do. He had to straighten out his thoughts. Separate Marinette from Ladybug in his mind and then he could deal with his feelings once he had set his mind straight. How could he make sure they stayed separate?

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Sorry for the short chapter everyone. Hopefully it coming out a little sooner than usual will make up for it? I appreciate all the comments you guys have been leaving. I wish there was a way for me to respond without having to private message you. After all I don't want to being blowing up ya'lls inboxes lol. As always I appreciate any and all support and thank you for letting me know what you think of the story so far ^-^_**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Marinette woke up feeling like she hadn't gotten much sleep at all. Her dreams had been strange and confusing. One minute she's in class with Adrien about to confess her feelings and then suddenly he would change into Cat Noir and they would be in the middle of fighting an akuma. Then once she's about to 'pound it' with Cat Noir he changes into Adrien and they're at a party together. Even in her dream state all the changing people and scenes were jarring.

After she dragged herself out of bed and had some food and a shower she was ready to shake the dreams off and get ready for the exciting day ahead. She was going to spend some quality time with Adrien!

"What to wear?" Marinette murmured as she stared at her closet.

"Why can't you just wear what you normally would? Aren't you just hanging out with some friends today?" Tikki asked from her spot on the desk.

"Kind of but Adrien is going to be there! It's almost like a date too since Alya, Nino, Adrien, and I are going and Alya and Nino are a couple and that leaves me and Adrien. It's almost like a double date." Marinette said aware of how stupid that sounded as she said it.

"Marinette. I don't think that makes it a date at all. Especially if the other person doesn't know it's supposed to be one." Tikki said gently.

"Yeah, I know. But it's not a crime to want to look good in front of my crush." Marinette said defensively.

"I didn't say it was but it would be a little suspicious if you showed up all dolled up for a casual event." Tikki explained gently.

"I suppose you're right. I can still dress a little nicer than usual though." Marinette murmured.

Finally, she decided on a black pleated skirt and a pink velvet sweetheart shirt. She twirled in front of the mirror before giving her reflection a nod of approval.

"See Tikki. Still casual, just a little cuter than usual." Marinette said.

"You look great Marinette. As long as that's all the improvement you're going to do you should be fine." Tikki chirped.

Marinette barely heard her as she decided to work on her hair. She let it down thinking a down hair style would be best since Cat had said he liked her hair down.

She froze at her own thoughts. She shook herself mentally reminding herself that it was Adrien she was trying to impress not Cat. Why would she care about impressing Cat? That didn't make any sense. Not that she didn't care what Cat thought because of course what her partner thought of her mattered but… not right now. Not about this subject.

She threw her hair up in her normal hairstyle frustrated by the sudden intrusive thoughts. It was probably just due to the weird switching that was happening in her dream the night before. Still, she didn't appreciate the feeling the thoughts gave her. She didn't even want to think about it.

She decided to do something productive until it was time to go meet Alya. Something that would require her to focus. She decided to work on the skirt and hoodie set that she had finally gotten the material for.

Before she knew it there was a knock on her trap door. The sudden interruption made her jump.

"Come in." she said.

"Hey girl. It's a bit early but my mom came home early so I didn't have to keep watching the twins." Alya said walking over to stand next to Marinette.

"Oh, well I'm glad I'm not late then." Marinette said relaxing in her seat.

When she saw Alya she had worried that she lost track of time.

"New project?" Alya asked gesturing to the clothing.

"Yeah. It's something really simple that really anyone could make. I didn't see any places selling it though so I'm making it myself." Marinette explained.

"Well, I can't wait to see the finished product." Alya said.

Even though she didn't know as much as Marinette about fashion she was always supportive of Marinette. As Alya put it she didn't need to know all the right words for different style shirts to know which ones looked cute.

"So, I was thinking we could head to the café down the street from the movie theatre. The boys can meet us there about half an hour before the movie and we can walk there without worrying about time constraints." Alya said.

"Sounds good. Let me just grab a jacket." Marinette said getting up.

"Cute outfit by the way. Trying to impress a certain someone?" Alya teased.

"Is it too much?" Marinette asked worried that Tikki had been right.

"Nope. I just like to mess with you girl." Alya said winking playfully.

The girls left the house after saying good-bye to Marinettes parents and promising that Marinette would be home by 10 at the lastest. On the way to the café the girls talked about normal things, school assignments, some rumors, all the recent akuma attacks, theories about who Hawkmoth could be, and theories on the civilian identities of Paris' heroes. The last three subjects were spearheaded by Alya and her boat loads of journalistic intel. The last subject always made Marinette uneasy but her friend never came close to claiming Marinette was Ladybug. At least not seriously.

"So how're you feeling? Any nerves I need to help calm down?" Alya asked.

They were settling down at a table outside with their drinks when Alya suddenly changed the subject.

"A little. Is it obvious?" She asked worriedly.

"Probably not to someone who isn't your best friend and knows everything about you. You did seem a little preoccupied with your thoughts during my last theory rant." Alya said smirking.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to space out on you." Marinette said quickly.

"It's okay. I kind of expected your nerves to be acting up anyway. You have nothing to worry about though. It's not like you'll be hanging out with Adrien alone. Though I do have some ideas to get you two closer during our little outing." Alya said.

"Don't tell me that! You'll just make me more nervous about this whole thing." Marinette chastised.

"It's nothing major. Just making sure Nino and I are mysteriously absent when its time to buy snacks and making sure Adrien sits next to you. You know, my normal dating service schemes." Alya said playfully.

"Please don't interfere too much Alya. It may end up only making me more nervous and it could make Adrien uncomfortable." Marinette pleaded.

"Why on earth would Adrien feel uncomfortable to be alone with you?" Alya asked raising an eyebrow.

"No particular reason. It's just that he expects Nino and you to be there the whole time. Being made to spend some unplanned alone time with me could make him uncomfortable. Especially since we aren't all that close." Marinette said.

"Mari, you've been doing so well around him. I don't know if you realize how much you've improved. You rarely stutter unless something embarrassing or slightly in the vein of romantic happens. You two have had plenty of conversations that Nino and I stayed out of. You two may not be super close but you're definitely close enough to spend some time alone without Nino and I." Alya assured her.

"I just don't want you guys to push him. I don't want to scare him away ya know? I would rather have his friendship than nothing at all." Marinette explained.

Alya frowned at her friend. She knew Mari and Adrien had the potential to be more than friends if they both just tried a little. Marinette just needed to believe in herself and not be flustered by being around Adrien.

"I won't lie to you and say I won't interfere at all but I'll at least hold back." Alya said, though she wasn't happy about it.

"I appreciate the honesty and the fact that you'll restrain yourself at least a little." Marinette said.

 ** _Author's Notes:_**

 ** _I know I keep saying the next chapter will be better to myself and sometimes to you guys but this is a slow burn story I think. Within the next few chapters things will get really interesting. Until I get to that twist I hope you guys enjoy the little bits of Adrienette and Marichat fluff. Thank you for all the kind comments and for any support. Let me know what you think so far ^-^_**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Adrien had started off his morning the same as usual, Nathalie woke him up and as he ate breakfast she went over his schedule. For once it was mostly clear, he had a piano lesson right after breakfast and a session with his Chinese tutor at noon. The rest of his day was free of responsibilities but of course Nathalie and the Gorilla knew of his plans to hang out with his friends. He had had to clear it with his father first and after a little pushing he convinced his father to let him go so long as he did well with his lessons.

To make sure he was able to spend that time with his friends he tried his hardest to stay focused and do his best during his piano lesson. After that he had about an hour and a half before his Chinese tutor would come. He used it to think and worry. He wondered how Marinette was feeling and what he should do when hanging out with her later. Maybe he should be extra nice? That may end up making him look fake though which would make her more anxious and maybe even suspicious about why he was acting that way. Maybe he should make sure they were never alone so she would always have Alya as her safety net? That may make her think he was trying to avoid being alone with her for a whole different reason though.

Plagg wasn't too concerned when his Chosen laid on his bed with a huff after his piano lesson but now he kept sighing every couple minutes. He honestly wasn't too worried and he was pretty sure he knew what the kid was thinking about. Maybe he should help the kid out again? He could be kind of dense and socially inept after all but maybe he was actually worried about something important.

"If you don't stop sighing I'll never get any peace and quiet to enjoy my camembert in so, what's todays issue?" Plagg asked flying over to float over Adrien's face.

He was laying there with his arm over his closed eyes, once again being a bit dramatic in Plagg's opinion.

"I'm hanging out with Marinette today." Adrien muttered.

"Okay. Do you not want to? Then you just fake sick." Plagg said thinking this was an easy fix.

"No! I want to see her but… you heard her. She gets nervous around me and I just want to make her comfortable. I don't know what I can do though. It seems like there's nothing I do to make her nervous, it's just me existing in the same space as her." Adrien explained sitting up quickly.

He nearly head-butted Plagg in the process but the little kwami was quick and flew back in time. Though he did give his Chosen a little glare for nearly hurting him.

"Well, that sounds like her problem then." Plagg said rolling his eyes.

"Plagg! That's mean. Shouldn't I help her feel comfortable?" Adrien asked shocked by his kwamis response.

"If you aren't doing anything to make her nervous then there's nothing you can do about it. You just continue being her friend and she'll have to get over her nerves on her own." Plagg said.

He decided Adrien could take care of a simple problem like this on his own. It wasn't a serious enough problem to help with so he grabbed some more camembert and slipped into his little house.

Adrien appreciated that Plagg was trying to help more nowadays but he wished he was a little gentler with how he did it. He was very blunt when he spoke, though in some ways that was better than sugarcoating things. Plagg was right too, he couldn't help it if his presence alone made Marinette nervous. He would just have to pay some extra attention to how Marinette was acting so if she started getting nervous he could hopefully change whatever was bothering her.

A few hours later Nino texted him to tell him he was waiting across the street. Adrien told Nathalie he was leaving and confirmed the address of the theatre with her since she insisted on having the Gorilla pick him up instead of him walking home alone. He was pretty sure the Gorilla actually had instructions to follow him there too but he didn't want to think about that.

"Hey dude, I'm glad you were able to get out." Nino said when Adrien got outside the gate.

"Yeah, so am I. It's lucky no one needed me for any appointments today. Normally my weekends are booked." Adrien said cheerfully.

"So, since you have some freedom for once, is there anything you want to do before we go meet up with Alya and Marinette?" Nino asked.

There should've been a million things Adrien wanted to do. He didn't have either of his usual guardians with him so maybe he could get away with more than usual. As soon as Nino mentioned Marinette though that's where he wanted to be. He knew it wouldn't be the same as hanging out with her as Cat Noir but maybe his advice last night helped her and maybe she would be more calm with him today.

"Not really. We can just go meet up with them." Adrien said.

"Okay dude, if you're sure." Nino said.

The walk to the café they were meeting at wasn't far. Marinette and Alya were sitting at a little table outside the café. He was suddenly glad that Marinette was facing away from them because at just the sight of her Adrien felt a heatwave pass over him from his nerves. All of his worries about how he should act and how she would act came rushing to his head at once.

"Hey Alya. Hi Marinette." Adrien said his voice more sheepish than usual.

"Nino! Adrien, how're you?" Alya said getting up from her seat.

Adrien noticed Marinette had jumped at the sound of his voice and he worried for a moment that he already messed up.

"H-hey Adrien, Hey Nino." Marinette said turning around in her seat.

She gave them a shy but genuine smile. Alya went up to Nino and gave him a quick hug before going back to the table to grab her drink.

"We'll be right back; we'll just throw these cups away inside first." Alya said grabbing Marinette's hand and pulling her along.

He noticed Marinette was wearing different clothing than usual. Should he compliment her on it or would that make her self-conscious?

"Dude, are you okay? You seem a little on edge." Nino said concerned.

"Yeah I'm fine." Adrien lied instantly relaxing his stance and giving Nino a smile.

He was lucky he was so good at faking emotions; he definitely didn't want Marinette to know how nervous he was feeling.

Alya pulled Marinette over by the trash cans and took a long sip of her drink before throwing out the cup and Marinette did the same.

"Okay girl, I heard the stutter so are you ready to do this?" Alya asked looking Marinette up and down.

"Don't say stuff like that!" Marinette scolded. "You'll just make me nervous talking about this as if it's a big deal."

A look of relief and then confusion came over Alya's face.

"I don't know what you think I was talking about but I was just making sure you're ready for the action packed superhero movie we're going to watch." Alya said a sly smile coming across her face.

Marinette couldn't help but giggle. Alya was a good friend, she always seemed to know the best way to fix her mistakes. Marinette tried to replay the conversation she had with Cat Noir but even if he turned out to be right about her being amazing that didn't make being around someone else amazing any less nerve wrecking. Especially when she wanted that amazing person to like her.

 _You're amazing Marinette and anyone who thinks different is an idiot. I know Adrien thinks so too._ Cat had told her that and he was at least a little right. Adrien had chosen to be friends with her so he at least liked her a little bit. She shouldn't be so nervous to just hang out with him.

"All right Alya. I'm ready." Marinette said smiling at her best friend.

They walked back out to find the boys talking about theories for what would happen in the movie. What might be the same as in the comics and what they may have changed because of creative licenses they took in prior movies.

"Boys right?" Alya asked teasingly.

"Actually a different company has the rights to that character so they'll have to explain away some of the abilities another way." Marinette chimed in.

"Did you read the comics too?" Adrien asked excitedly.

"I have to admit I haven't. I read up on it as soon as I found out the movie was coming out though. I kind of like to be informed about these types of movies before I watch them. I know it's kind of dumb to want to be informed on the source material when I'm going to get back story from the movie anyway but…" Marinette trailed off a light blush on her cheeks.

"Am I the only non-nerd in this group?" Alya asked playfully.

"If you were a nerd you would be more excited about the movie." Nino pointed out.

"I don't think it's weird that you want to know the full story before seeing the movie version. You want something to compare it too and with comics being long running series finding a summary online is a really smart work around." Adrien said giving Marinette an encouraging smile.

She smiled back up at him and as she glanced into his eyes she felt warm but also comforted. Maybe they really had gotten close enough for her to be more comfortable around him.

"Okay so since this is technically a crossover, who do you guys think the main villain will be?" Alya asked.

"They share a couple villains so there's a few options." Nino said as they started their way over to the theatre.

"What are you thinking about getting?" Adrian asked.

Marinette wasn't sure how Alya had pulled it off but while they were all standing in line for snacks she and Nino did mysteriously disappear. She couldn't say that Alya hadn't warned her but she was a little upset she went through with it after their conversation.

"Just a popcorn and a soda. Maybe some candy but probably not. What about you?" she asked.

"I guess just a popcorn and drink." He smiled a little sheepish again. "Ya know, I'm glad we're able to go to the movies again but properly this time."

Marinette was sure her face was as red as a firetruck when he said that.

"M-me too." Was all she could manage.

Oh god, he was glad to be at the movies with her again. Which just reminded her of last time they went to the movies together alone. Granted they had been trying to hide from his fans but… in a way she had already been in this situation.

"I know you were probably having a rough time since you had to run from fans all day but…I had a really good time that day with you. I thought it was kind of fun running around and hiding with you." Marinette said quietly.

She couldn't look at him while she said it in fear of him looking at her like she was crazy. If she had looked over she would've seen Adrien giving her a gentle smile.

"I had a really good time too. It was definitely the most fun I've had running from the paparazzi." Adrien said.

Adrien was super aware of Marinette's presence next to him the whole movie. He remembered how she had leaned on Cat Noir during the movie at her house and wondered if she would ever feel that comfortable around him as Adrien. As she got more comfortable in her seat and more engrossed in the film she did unconsciously get a little closer to him but not nearly as close as she got to Cat Noir.

Maybe if she knew he was Cat Noir they could be closer friends. He scolded himself as soon as he thought it. He knew he couldn't tell anyone about his secret identity. Even if he could he would want Ladybug to be the first one to know who he was under the mask.

Marinette suddenly grabbed Adriens arm as she jumped from a surprise attack and explosion on screen. He looked at her hand and then her face. She was still enthralled in the movie. Marinette was a close second for people he would reveal his identity to. He thought about moving his arm so he was holding her hand instead but words of caution rang in his head and stopped him.

He would have to come see her tonight though just to see how she felt about how the day went.

When the movie ended Marinette sighed and removed her hand from his arm as if she never even realized it was there.

"Well that was a rollercoaster." She said.

"Yeah, can't wait for the next one." Nino said.

"THAT'S IT!? That can't be where it ends! Where's the rest of the movie?" Alya asked from her seat.

Adrien and Marinette laughed at her reaction while Nino assured her he could get her the comics that take off where the movie left off. As they left the theatre Adrien saw his ride waiting and knew this was where his night ended.

"Thanks for inviting me out tonight you guys." Adrien said.

"We're all glad you could come." Alya said.

"It's too bad you can't hang out for a while longer." Marinette said eyeing his car.

"Yeah, but I'm just grateful I got to hang out with you all at all. It doesn't happen nearly as often as I want." Adrien said.

"We'll see you at school Monday right?" Nino asked.

"Yeah, there's no shoots or anything that day so I'll be there all day." Adrien said.

As they finished their good-byes Adrien remembered something from earlier. He figured Marinette seemed calm enough that it wouldn't bother her for him to say something.

"By the way Marinette, I really like your outfit. It's cute." He said and then got into the car to head home.

 ** _Author's Note_**

 ** _OMG you guys! This story has over 100 followers! I'm so freaking excited! I never thought this story would get that big and I'm so glad so many of you like my story enough to follow it. I hope you continue to enjoy it and thank you for all the support. I figured as a bit of a present I would make this chapter a bit longer so I hope you guys are all okay with the length of this chapter. As always let me know what you think with a comment. Thank you all so much, honestly it means so much that you're all reading what started as a silly side project. Thank you so much._**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

"Um, maybe we should get Marinette home before we continue our night. She's gonna need some time to process what just happened." Alya said.

Marinette was staring at the departing car in wide-eyed disbelief.

"He called me cute." Marinette said softly.

"Technically he called your outfit cute." Nino pointed out.

Alya shot him a glare before turning back to her friend. She linked her arm with Marinette's and headed back to her awestruck friend's home.

"You know, that's not the first time he's called you cute though." Alya said hoping normalizing the situation might help her friend.

Marionettes cheeks had started to turn red as the moment really set in.

"B-but this is different. The context was different." Marinette said.

Alya smiled and shook her head. She didn't want to ruin her friend's good mood but she also didn't want Marinette to get her hopes up. Alya's opinion was that Adrien may like Marinette but sure as hell didn't realize it yet. As of recently he started showing a bit more interest in her and Alya was starting to think he may subconsciously have a thing for her adorable friend. At the same time if Adrien never fully embraced or realized his feelings for Marinette, Alya didn't want her friend to get hurt.

Nino and Alya dropped Marinette off and made sure she got inside before leaving. Marinette only gave her parents a brief greeting before heading up to her room. She immediately threw herself onto her chaise. She hugged a pillow and squealed while rolling around excitedly.

"Tikki, this was the best day ever!" Marinette said sighing happily.

"I'm glad you had a good time Marinette but don't you think Alya and Nino have a point?" Tikki asked sheepishly.

Marinette gasped and sat up.

"I wonder if Cat Noir will visit tonight! Oh, I would love to tell him how everything went. I'm sure he's curious too since he was helping me out with this." Marinette said excitedly.

"Marinette weren't you the one who didn't want him visiting so much?" Tikki asked starting to feel amused by her Chosen's energy.

"Yeah but this is different. He helped me and… I should make him something to thank him!" she said jumping up. "What would he want though?"

"He seems to be really appreciative of food. Just give him something from the bakery." Tikki suggested.

"There is still time to make him something. Macaroons take too long but maybe some special chocolate croissants?" Marinette said thoughtfully.

"Um, I said to just give him something from the bakery." Tikki said.

"That wouldn't be right. A thank you gift has to be sincere. It needs to have some feeling behind it. I need to bake it for him." Marinette said. "I'll be back later Tikki."

Marinette headed downstairs to the bakery to make Cat Noir a gift. While she made it she thought of what he had done for her. Not just as Marinette but as Ladybug too. She really couldn't repay him for everything he had done for her. He was irreplaceable. She wasn't sure if the warm feeling in her chest were from thinking of him or from the oven.

Finally, an hour after the croissants had finished Marinette heard a knock on her trapdoor. She popped out and saw Cat Noir waiting expectantly.

"How was your night Purrncess?" He asked cheerfully.

Marinette wouldn't have been able to stop the smile that spread across her face if she had wanted to. She had wanted to tell him and he was interested to know.

"Oh Cat, it was wonderful! I barely stuttered at all and that's in part thanks to you. So as a thank you I made you these." She said pulling a basket out from behind her back.

"You didn't have to get me anything Mari. I was just happy to help." He said.

He didn't want to refuse the gift but he felt a little strange about accepting a gift when he was deceiving Marinette and giving her advice that would kind of work in his favor as well.

"But I want to thank you. The talk we had the other night really helped a lot." Marinette said.

She held the basket out further and gave him a pointed look, one that said he had to take the basket. So he took it though hesitantly and peeled back the cloth that was covering the contents. He was pleasantly surprised to see some baked goods inside.

"Oh!" Was his surprised reaction.

"I know it's not much and I made it myself so it's probably not as good as my parents but hopefully you still like it." Marinette said a little uncertainly.

"I love it. Baked goods are some of my favorite foods. And they're freshly baked. I never get that kind of stuff at home." He said taking in a deep breath of that fresh bread smell.

"Oh, I'm glad I made them for you then." Marinette said a little relieved.

Cat Noir split a croissant with Marinette while they looked out over Paris again. The wind made it just a little chilly which made Marinette subconsciously scoot closer to Cat Noir. He was very aware of this and it made him blush a little.

"So, you said you had a good time tonight. Care to elaborate?" Cat asked.

"Oh, well, he brought up another time we had hung out alone. A time that is actually really dear to me. It was a big day to me since I feel like we got a lot closer that day. He said he had enjoyed that day too. It was nice to know he thinks about that day sometimes." Marinette said a light blush touching her cheeks.

Cat Noir smiled knowing exactly what she was talking about. He was happy to know she cherished the memory just like he did. It was a good day for him. Filled with fun and freedom and looking back he didn't think there was anyone else he would have wanted to spend that time with. He was surprised it meant a lot to her that he still thought about it.

"Of course he would, you're a fun person to be around. Anything else?" He asked.

"He um, he said my outfit was cute." She said a little questioningly.

"Uh, are you not sure if he said your outfit was cute?" He asked giving her an amused smirk.

"No no, he did. I don't know if it's actually as big of a deal as I think it is though." She said trying to cover her blushing cheeks with her hands.

"Why would that be a big deal?" He asked, worried that he had messed up.

"Well, he called my outfit cute but… does that mean he thinks I'm cute?" She asked unable to look anywhere but at the ground.

"Oh is that all? Well, of course he thinks you're cute. Everyone thinks you're cute." Cat Noir said almost dismissively.

He was shocked to feel a smack on his arm and see a mad Marinette next to him. While her pouting and glaring was kind of adorable he still didn't like her anger being directed at him. Especially when he didn't know why.

"No everyone does not think I'm cute. At least…" she started to lose her fire and looked away again. "At least not in the way I hope he does."

"What do you mean by that?" Cat asked.

"You know what I mean Cat. It's painfully obvious to everyone that I have a crush on Adrien. You know exactly what I mean by wanting him to think of me as cute." Marinette said in an almost whiny voice.

"You have a crush on Adrien!? Like Adrien Agreste Adrien?!" Cat asked in shock.

I mean, now that he had heard her say it out loud he could totally see it. Why couldn't he see it before? Man, was he completely blind?

"Yes? How did you not know that after our conversation the other day?" Marinette asked.

"I mean, I guess there were some hints but, uh, I wasn't sure. I didn't want to assume anything ya know?" He said rubbing the back of his neck embarrassedly.

"So, you think it's completely hopeless now that you know I have a crush on him don't you?" Marinette asked meekly.

"I um, no?" Cat Noir said.

"Your confidence is clear." Marinette said sinking to the floor.

"It's not that it's just. I don't know him very well. I don't know what type of people he would be romantically interested in." Cat said trying to shake off the shock of her revelation.

"The same type of people you would be romantically interested in. He would jump at the chance to date Ladybug. So since you have the same type just ask yourself this; would you ever date someone like me Cat?" she asked looking up at him with sad eyes.

He didn't like that she looked like she already knew the answer when he didn't even know his answer. I mean, yeah, he liked her but did he like her that way? He thought he did but he wanted to be sure before he said anything and now she had cornered him. He wasn't prepared. He didn't know yet.

She sighed and stood up.

"It's okay kitty. I shouldn't ask questions like that. It was kind of rude of me to shove that on you." She said flicking his bell playfully. "I should be going back to bed."

He could tell her smile wasn't reaching her eyes. It was a pained smile trying to look happy. He had worn many of those, though much better ones, and it wasn't fun pretending to be okay. He didn't want her to go to bed like that.

"Marinette wait." He said grabbing her wrist.

She stopped and turned towards him. Her eyes were watery but she was still trying not to show him how hurt she felt. He felt like a knife had been thrust into his heart. He pulled her into a hug and, very slowly, she hugged him back.

"I'm so sorry I can't give you a clear answer right now." He whispered into her hair.

 ** _Authors Notes_**

 ** _Okay so, I have some unfortunate news. My mom is in the hospital. She fell and broke her femor. It's going to take months to heal and months of physical therapy for her to get back to being able to walk. I'm still going to try to write as much as possible but if I fall a little behind please be patient as that is the reason why. Thank you again for all of the support though and all feedback is greatly appreciated._**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Marinette was shocked by how much it had hurt her when Cat Noir's clear answer to 'would you date someone like me' was no. She wanted to chalk it up to Cat not wanting to date her meant Adrien wouldn't but… something about it being Cat that said it had really hurt her. Of course she did care about Cat's opinion of her since they were partners but was that all that it was?

To be fair he hadn't actually answered at all but his lack of an answer was an answer itself. She appreciated how he had tried to fix his non-answer in order to make her feel better but it also kind of just felt like pity. She didn't want Cat Noir of all people to pity her. It just proved everything she already thought, she was nothing compared to her superhero counterpart. Everyone would be shocked and disappointed if they knew she was behind the mask.

She sighed and adjusted her bag as she looked up at the school. She really didn't want to go in. Normally the draw of getting to see Adrien would make her run into the school but today she was dreading having to see him. She was probably already going to be late though so she couldn't linger for long.

As if her day wasn't starting off terribly as it was once she placed her foot on the first step a scream rang out. She swung around to see people running…well more like stumbling down the street.

"Great, an akuma." She muttered.

Tikki peeked her head out of the bag and nodded at Marinette. She gritted her teeth and balled her hands into fists. She had to swallow her feelings for the time being since Paris needed her. She had to be clear headed. She ran around a corner and in a flash of pink light she used her yoyo to swing herself onto the school roof top. She wanted to know what she was up against before charging in.

"I'll show you all to make fun of me! Who's clumsy now? Who's tripping over themselves now?"

Ladybug followed the yells until she found the akuma. It was a young girl, probably about 12. She had long red, thin pigtail and wore a black tank top and shorts with red swirling lines across them. She also had a … jump rope that she was using as a whip. That almost through Ladybug off but she reminded herself that akumas had weird weapons all the time.

The girl raised her whip again and it started glowing red. Ladybug would've liked to know what the effects of getting hit by the rope were but she wasn't going to let a civilian get hit just to find out. No matter what the effect was it couldn't be good.

Ladybug jumped down and shot her yoyo out to deflect the whip from hitting a young boy who was running away. The girl growled in frustration and swung around to face Ladybug.

"You! Give me your Miraculous so I can stay Ropa forever!" the girl yelled.

She snapped her whip in Ladybugs direction.

"Woah! Straight to the point aren't you?" Ladybug quipped as she ducked just in time.

The girls face reddened and twisted in anger. She snapped the rope in Ladybugs direction in quick succession, trying and just barely missing the heroine. Ladybug couldn't say she was dodging easily though. The girl was getting way too close for comfort.

She didn't have enough information to properly fight back. She wished Cat Noir was there to help gather information.

She glanced around and noticed the street was clear of people. With all the civilians hidden away safely she could retreat for a moment to regroup. She shot her yoyo out, attaching it to a lamp post to propel her away faster.

She was almost in the clear, but the akuma shot her whip out once more and it just barely scraped Ladybugs foot. That was all it took.

When Ladybug landed on a nearby roof she stumbled and tripped over her own feet falling into someone.

"Hey, you okay My Lady?" Cat asked helping steady her.

She was glad he was too worried about if she was okay to flirt. She frowned and looked down at her feet. She knew this unsteady feeling, she felt it all the time as Marinette. She thought back to her fight with the akuma and realized what the akuma's power must be.

"Oh no." she whispered.

"What? Are you hurt or something?" Cat asked.

"Cat!" she said grabbing his shoulders. "I need your help big time."

His face lit up when he heard that and noticed how close Ladybugs face was to his.

"Ugh. Look, this akuma has a jump rope she uses as a whip. That has to be where the akuma is hiding. But if the whip touches you…it makes you clumsy." Ladybug explained.

"And…it touched you didn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah, but… I think I should be fine. It will be a little harder to fight in this condition but I can adapt." Ladybug said confidently.

After all she was clumsy as Marinette normally, she figured the luck that came with being Ladybug was the only reason she was so steady on her feet as a superhero. She could handle being a little clumsy as Ladybug. She just had to manage it the same way she did as Marinette.

Cat Noir looked a little unconvinced.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Trust me. I'm used to being a little unsteady." She said.

She swung her yoyo towards a lamp post, and missed, but hit the one next to it.

"See, I just have to have a backup plan." Ladybug said winking.

Cat Noir smiled back at her. He couldn't help but have complete confidence in her. It didn't stop him from being a little worried about her though.

"So, what's the plan?" Cat asked.

"Well, since I've already been hit I can be a distraction. I don't want you to touch the rope except for when you're destroying it." Ladybug said recalling her yoyo. "Lucky Charm!"

Landing in her hands was a pair of handcuffs. Ladybug and Cat Noir looked at each other with confused looks.

"I mean, immobilizing her hands would be helpful?" Ladybug said questioningly.

"Well, I guess when the time comes we'll know what to do." Cat Noir said.

Ladybug jumped down in front of the girl just in time to block her from hitting a civilian. She had meant to block the hit with her yoyo but had miscalculated and ended up having to block the hit with her arm.

Ropa, as the akuma was calling herself, started laughing.

"You got hit twice, you're not even going to be able to move!" she howled.

Ladybug frowned and almost as if to taunt Ropa she took a few confident steady steps forward. As the girls smile turned into a snarl Ladybug took the moment to wrap her yoyo around one of the girls wrists and use that to propel herself towards the girl and handcuff her one wrist. Unfortunately there were unforeseen circumstances. Instead of flying past Ropa she slammed into her as she clasped the handcuff to her one wrist.

They tumbled over each other, each of them taking turns slamming against each other and the pavement until they skidded to a stop on the street.

"LADYBUG!" came Cat's panicked call.

Ladybug sat up unsteadily. Her vision was blurry and her body ached. She fought villains all the time but a tumble like that was somehow beyond the normal beatings.

Once her vision cleared she went to sit up and frozen in fear when she felt extra weight attatched to her right wrist. She looked over and let out a frightened squeak when she realized at some point in the tumble the other end of the handcuff had latched around her own wrist.

"CAT!" she called panicked.

"I'm on my way!" he called.

"YOU IDIOT!" the girl said as she jumped up.

Ropa yanked on the handcuff causing Ladybug to stumble and then she felt a hard smack on her back and she fell to her knees. She yanked Ropa down with her.

"At least you're close enough for me to take your earrings now." Ropa whispered.

Ladybug covered her ears in panic, the rattling of the chain reminded her that by doing so she just brought Ropa's hand closer to her earrings. Changing tactics, she threw herself forward, tackling Ropa. Hopefully she could hold Ropa down long enough for Cat to get to them. Pinning Ropa down by her wrists Ladybug looked down at her with frightened eyes and labored breathing. Ropa started laughing.

"I know at this point I'm beat but look at you. Tired and scared, are you really Paris' best hero? Almost taken down by a 10 year old. Pathetic." The girl said scanning Ladybugs face.

Ladybug was so taken aback she almost didn't hear the 'cataclysm' next to her.

She had to purify the akuma and put everything back to normal with her 'miraculous Ladybug' while still handcuffed to the victim. That was awkward but at least the handcuffs disappeared after that. They made sure the victim at least knew where they were and how to get back home or to her family before leaving.

"Pound it?" Cat Noir asked.

"Pound it." Ladybug said.

They fist bumped but Ladybug wasn't feeling too great.

"See you for patrol tonight?" Cat asked.

"Yeah. See you then kitty." She said before taking off.

 ** _Authors Note_**

 ** _Hey guys. I'm sorry if this seemed rushed. I'm not very good at fight scenes but I figured we were kind of due for one. Anyway I appreciate any and all support._**

 ** _BTW my mom and I appreciated all the well wishes. If anyone was curious she had surgery and had a rod put in her leg (it was her femor she broke right by her hip). Since then she had a blood clot so they put her on blood thinners. My step-dad, brother, and I have been with her everyday though and she seems to be doing okay. I still don't know how often I'll be able to give ya'll new chapters because I'm helping to take care of her and she won't be fully recovered for months. I'm still going to try to update at least every two weeks but don't hold me to that lol._**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Marinette wandered into class with heavy feet. She was late but didn't even pause as she went to her seat and sat down. She felt beat. Again a soreness was still there from the fight, except it wasn't and was all in her head. She knew it should hurt so it kind of did. She knew it was all in her head but that didn't help. It also didn't help that what the akuma had said was ringing in her ears.

"Marinette, why are you late?" Miss. Bustier asked.

She put a hand on her hip trying to look angry but she was really concerned. Marinette didn't look good. Her eyes looked dull and she grimaced when she sat down.

"I tripped on the way here. Sorry." Marinette said dully.

Miss. Bustier wasn't the only concerned one. After hearing Marinette's voice Alya was concerned too. Miss. Bustier opened her mouth to comment but another voice cut in before she could.

"Um, nurse said I'm fine so…" Adrien said sheepishly walking into class.

"Are you sure?" Miss. Bustier asked.

She would worry about any of her students but these two were really starting to give her some problems. She knew they weren't bad kids so their tardiness and bouts of sickness worried her.

"Yeah, actually I'm feeling much better too." He said sitting back in his seat.

Marinette felt a light blush coming to her cheeks but she decided she was going to look at him as little as possible. Not only had the akumas words thrown her off, making her believe she wasn't as good at being a superhero as she originally thought but the night before with what Cat Noir had said was still weighing on her.

When the lunch bell rang she gathered her things and basically ran out the door. She didn't want to interact with Adrien. She had no chance with him so being around him would only hurt her. With how fragile she felt she didn't know if she could hold it together. Her mind would only point out all the proof that he had no interest in her and she couldn't take that.

"Marinette!" Alya called after her.

When Alya finally caught up to Marinette she grabbed her shoulders and searched her face. Marinette looked different than ever before. She didn't look sad, she looked…empty.

"Mari, did something happen?" Alya asked.

Marinette couldn't disclose everything that was wrong because of her secret identity. She didn't know if she even wanted to unload everything that was wrong onto her friend. Alya was always there for her to cheer her up but Marinette couldn't keep relying on other people to boost her ego.

"No." Marinette lied shrugging.

Alya didn't believe that for a second. She let go of Marinette's shoulders but kept her gaze locked on her friend, looking for any clue to what could be wrong.

"I don't understand. You had such a good day and made so much progress. Why do you seem so disheartened now?" Alya asked.

Of course Alya could only link Marinettes weird behavior to something with Adrien. Her best friend being a reporter sure didn't help Marinette. She was going to have to give Alya something to go on. Maybe at least this once she could rely on Alya again. Alya probably wouldn't stop until she found out what was bothering her friend anyway.

"Did I really make any progress? Is he ever really going to see me as more than a friend? Is there anything I can do to change that?" Marinette asked.

Alya felt a little relieved to see the mask break and reveal a sad look on Marinette's face. Sadness was better than nothing at all. She gave her friend a gentle smile.

"Of course you can. He's just an idiot who needs some coaxing in order to realize his own feelings." Alya said confidently.

"I don't know Alya. He's into girls like Ladybug." Marinette said.

Alya was surprised to hear that that was what Marinette was worried about.

"Yeah, and I'm into guys like J-Hope." Alya said smirking and rolling her eyes. "His crush on Ladybug is a celebrity crush. It's unobtainable and idolized. It's not real."

"But that doesn't change his type. Confident and brave. Not a stuttering clumsy mess like me." Marinette said glumly.

"You know people can have more than one type right? And that people end up with people who aren't their 'type' all the time? He's even said your stuttering is cute! Ladybug might not even be his 'type' but just a celebrity he really admires and so he mixes admiration with liking her." Alya said smiling.

"You really think so?" Marinette asked perking up a little.

"Yeah. Even if he did actually like Ladybug it's not like he's Cat Noir. Ya know, someone who actually has a chance with Ladybug." Alya said jokingly.

Something about that rubbed her the wrong way. She shook her head, nothing about Cat liking Ladybug but not her as Marinette should bother her. She only cared about Adrien, not that silly kitty.

"Do you think he could tell something was off about me?" Marinette asked meekly.

"Hey, um, Marinette, can we talk?" Adrien asked behind her.

Marinette spun around to see a sheepish Adrien giving her an adorably awkward smile. Her cheeks turned red as she wondered how much he had heard.

"Oh, um sure. You heard how much? I mean, how much did you hear?" she asked mentally smacking herself.

She had done so well about the stuttering and mixing up words but he could still throw her off with just a look.

"Um, I didn't actually hear any of your conversation. It wasn't about me was it?" he asked worriedly.

"I'll leave you two alone to talk." Alya said slipping away.

There was a small and awkward silence while Marinette built up some confidence.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked weakly.

She wasn't going to answer his previous question. That would start a whole new awkward conversation that she was not mentally prepared to have with him. She looked up at him shyly giving him a small smile.

"Well," he started rubbing his neck. "did I do something to upset you?"

Marinette straightened up and her eyes got wide in shock. She had hoped he wouldn't have noticed that she had been acting strange but the thought that he would assume he had done something wrong never crossed her mind.

"No, you haven't done anything wrong." She said looking away from him. "I'm sorry if I've been acting strangely towards you."

"It's okay but can I ask why?" Adrien asked hesitantly.

He of course already knew the reason. What he had said as Cat Noir really bothered her and he felt awful that he hadn't been able to fix it as Cat Noir. He wanted the chance to fix it as Adrien though he wasn't sure how to be entirely honest and fix his mistake at the same time. He cared about Marinette and hated to see her sad. He hoped maybe that would be enough, if she just heard him say that maybe she would feel better.

"I appreciate the concern Adrien but I don't think this is really something I can ask you to help me with. It's just something I have to work on myself. I'm sure soon I'll be back to normal though." She said smiling.

Marinette got through the rest of the school day rather normally. She decided that even if she never could get Adrien's affection that didn't mean she would stop trying. After all he was still single and until that changed she always had a chance at least.

She rushed home and tried to do her homework while she anxiously waited for patrol with Cat. She wanted to be in superhero form and have a chance to prove to herself that she was still a good superhero no matter what an akuma had said.

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Hey guys. So I hope you're still enjoying the story. Seeing all the comments keeps me going. I'm sorry that this update is a little late. I appreciate any and all support. Please leave a comment telling me what you think of the story so far ^-^_**

 ** _Update on my mom:_**

 ** _She says thank you to everyone who has showed concern for her. She really appreciates it. I've been spending 6 out of 7 days with her at the nursing home while she recovers. I go home for about 30 minutes after work to make sure my brother gets home and then I'm with my mom until at least 6 but maybe even 8. So it's been a little difficult to get any writing done. I am trying though I promise. Thank you all._**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Marinette had eagerly awaited the sunset so she could call on Tikki to transform her into Ladybug once again. She hesitated before shooting her yoyo out and using it to swing over Paris. A smile formed on her lips as she got more confident. She landed on a roof and ran across it, she did a few flips before shooting her yoyo out again. With each second she grew more and more confident. Her enhanced balance and athletic ability had returned.

When she landed at the normal meeting spot she was feeling like her old self again. Well almost like her old self at least. As she looked out over Paris from her perch on the Eiffel Tower she couldn't help but think back to what the akuma had said. She had almost been defeated by a ten-year-old with a jump rope. There was more to the girls powers than that but the fact that she was almost defeated remained.

She was supposed to protect Paris and she had done an okay job so far. Every akuma that appeared she had defeated with Cat Noir and the other heroes help. They were no closer to finding out who Hawk Moth was under the mask though and his akumas were getting more and more powerful. It might only be a matter of time before they lost a battle.

"Hello M'lady." Cat Noir said as he landed.

Ladybug couldn't help the soft smile that came to her lips at his voice. Her mind may have quickly headed in a negative direction but his arrival instantly lightened her mood.

"Hello Kitty. I was just thinking about you." She said cheerfully.

He perked up at that and sauntered over to her side. He gave her a Cheshire grin as he looked at her.

"All good things I hope." He said playfully.

She bit back a laugh at his excitement.

"Nope. I was just thinking about how late you were and how I should probably just start patrol without you." She teased.

"You wouldn't really leave me behind just because I was a little late would you?" he asked.

She glanced over at him to see that he wasn't actually concerned. His ears were still perked up and there was the familiar glint in his eyes. She was glad he had caught on to the playful tone in her voice. But of course he did, they were almost always on the same wavelength. She decided not to tease him too much though.

"Of course not Kitty. I would be lost without you after all." She said flicking his bell.

He seemed to swell up with pride at that. He always soaked up any praise from her.

"So, what's the plan tonight?" He asked.

"Well, we'll do what we always do. Just try to keep up kitty." Ladybug said taking off.

"I'll follow you anywhere." Cat said following her lead.

Ladybug and Cat Noir were sitting on Notre-Dame. They had decided to take a quick break before heading home. Ladybug had found that while she was Marinette she enjoyed spending time with Cat. She liked spending time with him but rarely got to as Ladybug and was always worried they would accidentally reveal too much. Slowly she was warming up to the idea though.

"Look he was clearly a very important character so he wouldn't have sacrificed himself unless he knew it was the only way they would win and he knew he was going to come back. Even without reading the comics everyone knows all the characters are coming back." Ladybug said.

"But people that didn't read the comics won't know that for sure. After all they were really close to defeating him without any sacrifices until the one idiot messed it up." Cat argued.

Ladybug gasped in mock offense putting a hand to her heart.

"Do not offend him. How dare you. He's the most realistic hero we have." Ladybug said.

"Yes. Realistic. Taken from Earth and raised in space by space pirates. Realistic." Cat said smirking.

"You are butchering his back story." Ladybug said laughing at his explanation.

"I am not. Come up with a better summary of his back story." Cat challenged.

Ladybug thought for a moment and then slowly pouted.

"You win this round kitty." She said begrudgingly.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was nice. Talking with him even in her superhero form was nice.

"Another quiet night. I'm starting to think Hawk Moth is purposely making akumas in the middle of the day to disrupt class." Ladybug said absentmindedly.

Cat Noir took note of what she said and wondered if he should take the opportunity to ask more. Should he ask what school she went to? No that would be too forward. Maybe just asking what grade she was in or how old she was? She probably wouldn't answer those either.

"Hey, Cat?" she said her voice more hesitant.

"Yes bugaboo?" he replied smirking.

"Thanks for today." She leaned against him. "I would've lost without you."

While Cat appreciated the praise something was telling him there was more going on. He felt like he needed to reassure her.

"You would've been fine without me. It would take more than making you a little clumsy to take you down." He said nudging her lightly.

"No Cat, I wouldn't have been fine without you." Ladybug said. "I don't know if you realize how much I need you. I couldn't save Paris without you. I don't know if I really remind you how irreplaceable you are and how thankful I am to have you as a partner."

She moved away and smiled at him hoping her grateful feelings were reaching him.

Cat Noir was overcome with this warm happy feeling. She had called him irreplaceable and the smile she was giving him. He had to have an outlet for this warm feeling so without thinking he pulled Ladybug into a hug. She was caught off guard at first but then she hugged him back, settling against him. Something about it felt familiar to both of them. Ladybug was surprised by how little she wanted the hug to end. When they did finally break apart she felt a little disappointed by the sudden coldness where he had been. In that moment she realized something she never thought was possible.

"I um, I have to go. Ya know things to do in the morning and whatnot." She said standing up and backing away.

"Wait is something wrong?" Cat Noir asked.

"No. No I just have to go." She lied.

She zipped away in a hurry. She scrambled into her room and let her transformation down. Instantly she started pacing as she desperately begged her heart to stop pounding so loudly.

"Marinette, what's wrong?" Tikki asked.

"Tikki, I think…No I can't." she said shaking her head. "I love Adrien."

Tikki looked at her distressed Chosen worriedly. She flew up to her and snuggled against her cheek. Marinette hadn't stopped pacing and as she seemed to grow more anxious she starting periodically running her hands through her hair.

"Marinette, if you just talk to me I'm sure we can fix whatever is bothering you." Tikki said encouragingly.

"I…I think I might like Cat Noir." Marinette said worriedly.

She groaned and flopped onto her chaise. Her hands gripping her hair dramatically.

"Okay. But why? You haven't shown any interest in him all this time so why now?" Tikki asked concerned.

"I…I may have liked him even before but I was so focused on Adrien and wanting to be with Adrien that I just buried the feelings. And I do still want to be with Adrien. With Cat being around all the time though, helping me all the time, being able to talk with him as just a normal civilian…I got to close to him. When we hugged, I hated when we separated. I felt this aching feeling of wanting to pull him close to me again. I didn't want to leave. He makes me feel warm and safe and like I'm better than I really am. As both Ladybug and Marinette." Marinette said.

She looked up at Tikki as if begging for help with her dilemma.

"Okay well, its not that bad of a thing. Cat Noir likes you back after all." Tikki said cheerfully.

"It's not that simple Tikki!" Marinette groaned. "For one I still like Adrien and Cat Noir doesn't like me he likes Ladybug! You remember his reaction when I asked if he would ever date someone like me right? Ugh, and that's why his reply hurt so bad! Am I doomed to only like guys who would never like me back?"

She banged her head on her desk. What was she supposed to do? She didn't want to back away from Cat Noir, it had been great becoming so close to him but she still had feelings for Adrien. Would it even be okay to be with either of them while she had feelings for someone else?

 ** _Authors Notes._**

 ** _I'm glad I was able to update this one pretty quickly. Let me know what you all think with a comment. I appreciate any and all support. I really appreciate everyone who's continued to read this. It's really awesome._**

 ** _Update on my mom: SHE'S COMING HOME TOMORROW! I'm so excited. Having her home will be so much easier on everyone and will brighten her spirits. Granted I will still be spending a lot of time helping her since she still is not allowed to walk on the broken leg. Updates may be easier but I won't know for sure until I see what having her back home is really like._**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Adrien sighed and flopped down on his bed while Plagg rushed over to where some camembert was waiting for him. Adrien didn't even know what to think. He was feeling so many things at once and he couldn't understand why he was feeling certain things. He felt happy because of the praise Ladybug gave him and how she seemed to be responding more positively to his affection. Part of him felt guilty though. He had been thinking of Marinette quite a bit while he was with Ladybug. He was comparing them now.

"I shouldn't have been thinking of her while I'm with the love of my life." Adrien said running a hand through his hair.

When he thought of Marinette though he felt a warmth spread through his body. He was frustrated by how confused he was by his own feelings.

"So are you going to go see pigtails tonight?" Plagg asked after he gulped down his stinky cheese.

"No." Adrien answered.

"What? Why?" Plagg asked.

Normally he wouldn't have cared what the kid wanted to do but it had become pretty routine for them to go visit Marinette every night and the change had surprised Plagg.

"Well, I have some things I need to figure out right? Do I like Marinette even if she isn't Ladybug? Do I like Ladybug too much to pursue anything with Marinette if she isn't Ladybug? I need to keep my superhero life and civilian life separate for a while so that I can keep Marinette and Ladybug separate in my head." Adrien explained.

"Wow. You've surprised me, kid. You can think responsibly. Though I don't know how you spending less time with Marinette is supposed to help you figure out how you feel about her but hey, your decision leaves me more down time so I'm all for it." The kwami said before rushing to his little napping spot.

Adrien had to admit he didn't feel too great about his decision. He wanted to go see Marinette as his alter ego. They always had such a good time and she always seemed so different when interacting with Cat Noir. She was more confident and playful with his alter ego; she had said herself that Adrien made her nervous. And because she had a crush on him. That made things more complicated.

He sighed again as he got ready for bed. He didn't want to hurt Marinette but he also couldn't tell her how he felt about her without being completely sure that he could give his all to her. He didn't know if he could. He was starting to wonder if he would ever know for sure.

Alya was surprised to see both Adrien and Marinette looking exhausted the next morning. What was even more surprising though was that they were both early.

Marinette laid her head on the desk as soon as she got to her seat. It took all the will power Adrien had not to do the same.

Alya and Nino had a whole conversation through glances they gave each other. Neither one knew why their friends looked so completely beat so early in the morning. They were concerned and prompted one another to ask what was wrong.

"So," Alya started dragging the word out. "What has you two looking so tired?"

"I just didn't really sleep at all last night. I was having nightmares; every time I close my eyes I saw a scary image and shot up in bed." Marinette mumbled her half-truth.

She had barely gotten any sleep but it was because every time she closed her eyes she pictured either Adrien or Cat Noir. It was causing her heart so much distress that she ended up just lying in bed awake most of the night.

"That's not good girl. You need to be able to sleep. Did something happen to cause the nightmares?" Alya asked concerned.

"No. I guess it was just a bad night or something." Marinette muttered again.

Adrien felt bad about what Marinette was going through and the thought of checking on her as Cat passed through his mind but he immediately dismissed the idea. He wasn't doing that anymore. Unless something seriously dangerous happened because he did still want to protect Marinette.

"What about you dude? Why are you so tired?" Nino asked.

"Just had a busy day yesterday." Adrien said shrugging.

"Really? I thought you had a pretty clear schedule yesterday. Just your normal lessons." Marinette said without thinking.

She instantly shot up worriedly. He would think she was a total creep for knowing his whole schedule. Honestly she knew she should stop doing that anyway but it was one habit that was harder to break than she expected.

"N-not that I know your whole schedule or anything it's just that from what was said and what I heard and knew that you weren't going to be super busy. I could be totally wrong-" she rambled.

Adrien chuckled and turned around to give the blushing Marinette a calming smile.

"It's okay Mari. I did have a pretty empty schedule. It was busy in other ways. Homework for here and my home lessons, plus some family matters I had to deal with." He lied.

"Oh. Well, I'm still sorry you didn't get much sleep." She said going back to resting her head on her arms.

"Yeah, I'm sorry you didn't either. There's nothing I can do about my schedule but if you're struggling with nightmares you could always call someone to talk for a bit. It may help you calm down and forget about the bad dreams. It may help you fall asleep in a better mind set." Adrien suggested.

"Nah, I wouldn't want to bother anyone that late at night over something so childish." She said.

"It's not childish if it's keeping you up all night. It's not a bother either. I would be happy to talk to you any time of night if I could get you into a happier mindset." Adrien said.

Marinette's eyes got wide and her cheeks started to turn pink.

"R-really?" Marinette asked.

It was then that he realized how that may have sounded to her. He didn't want her to read too much into his words because that felt a little like possibly leading her on. He was telling the truth though; he really would love to talk to her any time to make her feel better.

"Well, yeah." He said sheepishly.

Alya was watching the exchange with a smirk. She couldn't help but think that if Adrien didn't realize he liked Marinette by now than he was the dumbest person on the planet. She could tell just from the conversation and body language that those two were crushing on one another.

Just then Miss. Bustier walked in ready to begin class. Marinette and Adrien were both earlier conversation. Marinette's mind drifted between Adrien and Cat Noir and how they both made her feel. They made her feel different but they both made her feel warm inside. They both cared about her and thought she was amazing in her own way. She cared immensely about both of them and wanted to see them succeed and be happy. She stared at the back of Adrien's head and wondered if he could ever feel the same towards her as she did to him.

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Hey you guys! I hope you all are still enjoying the story. Make sure you leave a comment telling me what you think ^-^ Any and all support is appreciated though. I love seeing the number of followers and favorites. It keeps me motivated to write even when I don't have as much time as I would like for it._**

 ** _Update on my mom:_**

 ** _She's doing great and she really appreciates all the comments you guys have left wishing her a quick recovery. She still can't walk, she's using a walker to hop around the house. Hopefully she'll be able to put some weight on that leg soon._**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"Did you want to work on that science paper together after school today?" Marinette asked Alya as they sat down for lunch.

Though she still felt really tired and wished she could take a nap as soon as she got home she didn't have the time for that. She had to suck it up and focus in school and then get her school work done when she got home. Her only hope was getting it done quickly so she could go to bed early.

"Actually," Alya said glancing at Nino across the table. "I was kind of planning on working on it with Nino tonight."

She gave Marinette an apologetic smile and while Marinette was a little disappointed she couldn't be too upset. Marinette should've asked sooner; the paper was due tomorrow so it was obvious Alya would have plans to do it with Nino. Marinette had barely gotten any of it done though, and Alya was always good at keeping her on task.

"Alya, you and Marinette haven't hung out in quite a while. Of course I want to hang out but if you want you can go work on the paper with her." Nino suggested.

"No no. I wouldn't want to stop you guys from hanging out. It's really fine." Marinette said quickly.

Of course she appreciated the offer but she didn't want to get between them. She liked that things were going so well between them. It gave her hope for her own love life working out.

"I haven't finished the paper yet either. If you want, we could work on it together?" Adrien suggested.

"Really?" she squeaked, immediately blushing from embarrassment. "I mean, only if you really want to because I could always do it on my own and I wouldn't want you to feel like you have to-"

"Really. I think it would be fun to work on it together." Adrien said smiling. "Would you mind if we worked on it at my house? It may be easier to convince my dad that way."

"Yeah, I would like that." Marinette said happily.

"Cool. I'll go call him now to make sure he's okay with it." Adrien said.

"Okay." Marinette said.

As Adrien walked away Marinette realized she had a stupid smile on her face and shook her head.

"Today is the best day ever. I'm not dreaming right?" Marinette asked turning to Alya.

"Do you want me to pinch you to check?" Alya asked smirking mischievously.

"No thank you." Marinette said holding her hands up in surrender.

"Shouldn't you check with your parents to make sure you can go to Adrien's place after school too?" Alya pointed out.

"Oh right!" Marinette said jumping up.

Alya watched Marinette walk away and turned to Nino once she was out of earshot. They leaned in, ready to conspire.

"Clearly there's been improvement on the Adrien front but has he said anything to you about it? Any new crushes he's being vague about even?" Alya asked.

"He hasn't said anything to me but to be fair he and I haven't had a whole lot of time together lately. That's why I said it would be okay for you to work on the paper with Mari. It would give me and Adrien some bro time so I could try and get some info outta him." Nino explained.

"You can't make plans like that on the fly without telling me! How am I supposed to know it's part of a plan and not just you trying to be nice? Besides tonight is our date night so you'll have to make 'bro time' some other day." Alya said.

"What's this about bro time?" Adrien asked sitting back down.

"Nino was just saying you guys need more time together and that I am apparently stealing him away from you too often." Alya said leaning back.

She laughed as Adrien rushed to deny the fake claims she said Nino made, while Nino explained he didn't say them to begin with.

Suddenly as Marinette made her way back over to everyone there was a loud boom and the cafeteria windows shattered in towards the students. Everyone screamed and got down, covering their heads. While many of the students who were father away from the windows got up and started running further into the school Marinette ran towards the explosion. She started helping students up and making sure everyone is okay.

Adrien, Alya, and Nino joined her.

"What caused that?" Alya asked to no one in particular.

"Students please calmly and quickly make it to one of the classrooms or other designated safe rooms. There is another akuma attack. Once there the teachers will give you further instructions." Came an announcement from the school's speakers.

"I guess that answers that." Nino muttered.

Marinette made sure her friends were too busy helping the other students to notice before sneaking out of the room.

"Hey, where did Marinette go?" Adrien asked.

He was helping a student who twisted his ankle when he fell from the explosion. He was one of the last students left.

"Oh, um, I don't know." Alya said looking around worriedly. "Maybe she left to get to one of the safe rooms?"

Adrien frowned, she must've taken off like she always did when there was an akuma. He didn't know why she couldn't just leave it to him and Ladybug. She needed to stay safe just as much as everyone else.

"Here, help get him to a classroom. I'm going to try and find her." Adrien said handing the limping student off to Alya.

"Wait! You're just going to get yourself hurt! Adrien!" Alya called as Adrien ran out of the room.

She shook her head at the recklessness of her friends. She couldn't believe any of them had the nerve to call her reckless. Nino and her helped the last couple of students, who all needed help walking, get to a classroom.

Adrien ducked into the boy's locker room and transformed. It wasn't exactly the most discreet place to transform but he was kind of in a rush.

It didn't take him long to find Marinette luckily. When he saw her helping a student up the stairs he was glad it seemed like she was headed to safety but once she reached the top she left the girl and came sprinting back down the stairs and towards the front door.

"Marinette!" He called running to stop her.

Why was she running straight towards the danger? She stopped and turned to look at him a shocked and guilty look on her face.

"What are you doing?" He asked standing between her and the door.

"I was um…" she wore a worried smile.

Suddenly there was another explosion and Cat felt a sharp pain in his back and then it felt like something hit the back of his head. The world became blurry and then dark.

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Hey guys. I know this chapter probably isn't the best but I wanted to make sure I got something out soon because I feel like it's been a while since I put out a new chapter. With the holidays it's been a little harder (you'd think with winter break it would be easier but being an adult at Christmas sucks lol) Anyway even though it isn't the best chapter I hope you guys still enjoyed it._**

 ** _Update on my mom:_**

 ** _In six weeks she should be able to walk perfectly! We're getting there you guys ^-^_**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

The front doors of the school flew inward with the force of the explosion outside and the large pieces of splintered wood hit Cat. His eyes rolled back and he fell forward. Marinette caught him before he hit the floor but fell to her knees from the sudden weight. She looked at the door in worry and saw an akuma with a bright red, orange, and yellow outfit that resembled flames walking into the school and glancing around there. When his eyes fell on Cat Noir and Marinette he smirked.

"Ah, Cat Noir, I'm glad this was so easy." He said.

"Stay away from him!" Marinette growled.

She stood up and struggled to bring Cat up with her. He was surprisingly heavy despite his lithe appearance.

"Cat! Cat Noir! You have to get up!" She grunted as she tried to pull him away.

She wasn't getting away quickly enough. She put him down gently and picked up his weapon. She stood between him and the akuma giving the akuma the meanest look she could muster. She didn't know what her plan was. Even if she managed to hold the akuma off how long could she hold him off as a civilian. She couldn't run off and transform so Ladybug wasn't going to show up to take over. If Cat Noir woke up would he even be able to fight? She didn't even know how to work his weapon. She couldn't just do nothing. She needed to protect him.

"Little girl, you're going to get hurt unless you get out of the way." The akuma warned.

"Then looks like I'm going to get hurt." Marinette growled.

The man frowned and tossed something in the air, caught it, and threw it at her. She hit it away with Cat's baton easily. The object exploded in the air. She jumped at the sudden loud noise but she noticed it wasn't nearly as strong an explosion as the others were.

"That's just a small taste of what I can do. Now hand Cat Noir over, the next ones won't be so small." He growled.

"I'll never let you near him!" Marinette said.

She fumbled with the baton wishing she knew how it worked.

"How does this dumb thing extend again?" she whispered aggravated.

Finally, she got it to extend a bit, just in time to see five of those explosives heading right for her. She spun the baton the way she had seen Cat Noir do countless times. Luckily she spun it with just enough force to knock them a safe distance away. They all flew in different directions and when these ones went off she heard cries of fear from the other classrooms. She had to cover her head as some bits of ceiling fell. Smoke and dust filled the air and she couldn't stop herself from coughing.

Now she was starting to freak out. All the other students needed to be saved too. She couldn't keep fighting this guy in the school or they would all get hurt. But she couldn't leave Cat Noir. She couldn't let anyone take his miraculous or hurt him. Tears stung her eyes.

"Please Cat. I need you to get up." She cried, her voice cracking.

"Your wish is my command, Princess." Came a weak reply.

Suddenly her feet came out from under her and the baton was taken from her hands. She was worried at first but she quickly realized she was being carried from the building. Once outside she saw her savior was Cat Noir. It was lucky the smoke screen gave them a chance to escape because he still looked pretty badly beat up. He used his baton to get himself and Marinette as far away from the building as possible. He landed on top of a random house and collapsed. Marinette fell to her knees next to him filled with relief.

"Cat! Thank god you're okay." She said.

She couldn't stop the tears that had started from all the emotions she just went through. She was so relieved he was well enough to get them out of there.

"Yeah, gotta say waking up to see you using my weapon to protect me was a bit of a blow to my ego Princess." He said playfully.

His voice was raspy though and his eyes gave away how much pain he was in.

"What happened? Like, how much did you see?" She asked worriedly.

"Well after I blacked out I kind of heard you calling for me. When I was finally able to open my eyes I saw you standing between me and the akuma and spinning my baton to knock, what I assume are grenades, away. Seeing you like that, well, I just knew I needed to save you." He said his voice getting a little less raspy.

"Cat…I… I don't…" she needed to leave him to transform and save everyone but she couldn't leave him in this condition. "Are you okay? Can I get you anything?"

"No. I should be fine." He said sitting up. "I just need a minute."

"If you're sure you're okay I should go. Someone needs to go help the people at the school." Marinette said standing up.

Cat Noir grabbed her arm.

"Marinette. I don't want you going back there. I can't stand the thought of you putting yourself in danger." He said looking up at her with pleading eyes.

Marinette's heart ached seeing that look.

"Cat, someone has to help them." Marinette said.

"Then let Ladybug help them." Cat said more forcefully than he meant.

Marinette looked away. She wished she could tell him that she was Ladybug but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not only because it was dangerous. There were other reasons she couldn't bring herself to do it now. She liked him and she didn't want him to like her that way only because she was Ladybug. She couldn't stand the thought of him finding out and only treating her different because she was Ladybug. Even worse what if she was a disappointment to him. After all he did react as if he would never date someone like her. She shook her head. There were more important things to think about.

"Ladybug was nowhere to be seen. I need to go help however I can." Marinette said.

Cat stood up clearly in a lot of pain while he did so.

"Then I'm going back too." He said.

"Cat! You're too hurt to fight right now!" Marinette argued.

"And you aren't a superhero but yet you're going to go back there to fight." He said.

"STOP SAYING THAT!" Marinette yelled.

His ears flattened and he stiffened, shocked by her sudden outburst. She looked like she regretted shouting the second the words were out.

"Stop saying I can't help just because I don't have super powers." She said her voice shaking. "I'm leaving, I'm going to try to find Ladybug, and help evacuate everyone from the school. It's not safe there anymore. You stay here for now."

"Let me at least get you off the building?" Cat suggested sheepishly.

Marinette stiffened and blushed as she realized she hadn't even thought about how she was going to get down.

"Okay. But then you sit down and rest until you feel ready. Swear you will." She demanded.

"I swear." He smiled putting his arm around Marinette's waist.

He lowered them down to the street. Marinette started to move away but Cat tightened his hold on her.

"Cat-" she started.

"I know. I'll let you go but…just promise me you'll be safe." He said.

The look he was giving Marinette made her blush and her heart beat sped up.

"Yeah. I'll be safe. I promise." She said giving him a reassuring smile.

She hugged him, being sure not to hurt him in the process then ran back towards the school as quickly as she could.

 ** _Authors Notes_**

 ** _BOOM! Two chapters in one day lol. This is to make up for the other chapter not being great. If you don't like this chapter you're wrong lol. Just kidding, honestly comment and tell me if you liked it or not. This was my favorite chapter to write so far. I appreciate any and all support as always. Hope you all are enjoying the story still._**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Marinette waited until she was pretty close to the school to transform. Luckily it looked like the akuma had left the school realizing neither of the heroes were there. He was standing in the street pacing as if he were waiting for someone. He was honestly probably waiting for Cat Noir to return knowing the heroes wouldn't leave the school kids to defend themselves. She wanted to get him away from the school, maybe she should lure him away to the seine river? There would at least be less people there.

She studied him for a moment longer from her hiding place in the bushes. She wanted to figure out what the akuma was hiding in, she would have a better plan once she knew what she was aiming for. He had a leather pouch hanging from his belt on his left side that he kept opening as if he were checking on an item inside of it. There was probably something in there that the akuma was attached to.

"Hey, that was a pretty nice school. You have something against that place?" She asked sauntering out of her hiding place.

Her only plan so far was to lead him toward the seine river. The rest she would have to make up as she went.

"Ladybug. I don't have anything against places, just people. Now hand over your miraculous and I won't have to hurt you." He said.

"You really have a habit of underestimating people don't you?" She asked smirking.

He growled and threw a grenade at her. She flipped over it and used her yoyo to slingshot herself down the street in the direction of the river. It took more prompting and nearly getting exploded than she would've liked to finally get him to the water's edge.

"Something tells me you need to cool off!"

She was shocked as the akuma was knocked into the river next to her. She turned her shocked look to Cat Noir who was giving her a flirty confident smile. While he seemed to be feeling better she knew better. He had been far too hurt to already be back in battle. He was only going to hurt himself more.

"What are you doing here?" she asked shocked.

"Um…kicking akumas into rivers?" he said tilting his head.

He seemed genuinely confused by her reaction. She wasn't thinking straight. She knew he didn't know she knew he was hurt and she shouldn't give him any hints that she was Marinette but she was worried about him too.

"You aren't supposed to be here!" she blurted out.

"Did I do something wrong?" Cat asked his ears flattening.

They both got drenched with water as an explosion went off in the river. Ladybug just wanted this battle over as soon as possible.

"No. Just…ugh! We'll discuss this after we take this guy down." She said frustrated.

It wasn't hard to take the akuma down once they were both together. While Ladybug distracted him and he was busy throwing grenades at her, Cat Noir slid by his left side, using a cataclysm on the leather pouch and destroying the grenade pin that was inside.

Cat Noir ran off right after the akuma was purified, he didn't even fist bump with Ladybug. That was so out of character for him so Ladybug followed him to make sure he was okay. After all he was hurt earlier and may have pushed himself too hard. She knew it was close to when they would detransform but she just had to make sure he was okay. It wouldn't take her long to make sure he was okay after all.

She followed him around a corner into an alley and was about to call out to him when a lime green light flooded the alley. She didn't turn away quickly enough and what she saw took her breath away. She felt dizzy and like she couldn't move. She was only there for a second before zipping away though, he hadn't seen her and she didn't want him to. She didn't know how she would react if she had to talk to him right then.

"Cat Noir was Adrien." She muttered to herself feeling her throat close up.

She detransformed a block away from home. Once in the bakery she muttered a quick 'I'm sick' to her parents as she rushed past them and up to her room. She was supposed to go back to the school but she wasn't lying about feeling sick. She felt like she was going to throw up. The revelation was a lot and it was not at all how she pictured it going.

It wasn't long before her mom came up to check on her. While she didn't have a fever or anything her mom gave her a sympathetic look.

"You clearly aren't feeling well sweetheart. You can stay home for the rest of today, we'll call the school. You have to go tomorrow though." She said running a hand through her daughter's hair.

"Thank you mom." She said.

"I have to get back to work but if you need me just call for me." She said heading back down to the bakery.

Marinette took a shower hoping it would help her figure things out. The more she thought about it, it made sense they were the same person. Adrien was always missing during akuma attacks just like she was. She still didn't like the situation though.

"I don't understand. Isn't it a good thing they're the same person?" Tikki asked innocently.

"Why would that be a good thing Tikki?" Marinette asked thinking her kwami was insane.

"Well, you were all worried because you thought you liked two people. They're the same person. Isn't that a good thing?" she asked.

"No. I like both sides of him but he only likes one side of me. Knowing Cat Noir and Adrien are the same person just further proves he won't ever feel the same for me as I do for him." Marinette gasped suddenly realizing something. "AND HE KNOWS!"

She had talked to Cat about how she felt about Adrien. She told him how she felt about him! Of course he acted a little strangely when she was asking him questions like 'would you ever date someone like me'. God, she felt like an idiot. Now she was going to over think every conversation she had with both sides of him.

She continued to wallow in self-pity until her mother called up to her to tell her she had a visitor.

"You can send them up." She sighed sitting up.

She assumed it was probably Alya who would yell at her for not confirming that she was okay. Marinette hadn't touched her phone since she had gotten home. The footsteps racing up to her room didn't sound like Alyas though.

"Marinette are you okay?" Adrien asked rushing into her room and up to her.

"A-adrien!? W-what are you doing here!?" she asked jumping up off her chaise.

"Well, you didn't come back to class after the attack so I wanted to make sure you were okay." He said.

"O-oh. And your dad was okay with that?" she asked.

"He doesn't know. But we were supposed to work on that paper together anyway so maybe we just had to make a quick stop here for you to pick something up?" He said sheepishly.

She noticed as he spoke he kind of looked her over. It made her hot with nerves and she felt herself blushing.

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that." She said.

"It's okay it was an eventful day. But, are you okay?" He asked locking worried eyes with her.

"Y-yeah." Looking in his eyes reminded her of Cat Noir. "What about you though?! Are you okay?"

He looked surprised by her sudden concern. She realized what she said and bit her lip embarrassedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The heroes lured the akuma away from the school pretty quickly after all." He said giving her a sweet smile.

She felt her stomach twisting as he looked at her like that. She couldn't stop seeing him as Cat Noir and thinking about all the things he was pretending not to know.

"Actually, I have been feeling really sick though so I don't think it's a good idea for us to work on that paper together today." She said looking at the floor.

"Oh." He sounded disappointed. "Well, that's okay since you aren't feeling well. Is-is there anything I can do for you?"

It hurt her that he was being so kind to her.

"No. Thank you though." She said still not looking at him.

"Okay." He sounded really disappointed. "Well, if you need me for anything I'm just a call away."

"Yeah, thanks." She said.

She didn't see the concerned look he gave her before he left and she didn't know that he was already planning to visit her later as his alter ego hoping to find out why she was acting so strange.

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Hey guys. A few things. One, I'm sorry I didn't include the akuma fight but those are very hard for me to write so I decided to skip it. Two, part of the reason I skipped it is because I have been feeling uninspired lately. Three is a lot. So, this time of year is very hard for my family. Bascially, long story short, my little sister passed away January 11 of 2017 so the holidays and January and December (her birthday is Dec 1_** ** _st_** ** _) in particular are very hard for us. So, forewarning I don't know how much I will be posting this month. I may try to write as a distraction or I may not be able to write at all. I'm sorry as I know many of you look forward to the updates but it depends on where my heart is. I apologize._**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Marinette felt really bad about turning Adrien away like she did and she knew when Alya found out she was going to have a lot of explaining to do. It wasn't like she lied about feeling sick though. Even now she felt nauseous thinking about what she found out. She wasn't really upset that Adrien and Cat Noir were the same person in theory. They were both amazing and kind people and being Cat would allow Adrien some freedom he didn't really have as, well, Adrien. She wasn't bothered by him not telling her who he was either as she herself had asked for that both as Marinette and Ladybug.

What bothered her was the fact that Cat had talked to her about Adrien while being Adrien. It was kind of manipulative but in a way it wasn't his fault. In order to keep his identity hidden like she asked he had to respond the way he did in those situations. He couldn't have changed the subject without possibly hurting Marinette's feelings or making her question him about why he was avoiding the topic of Adrien.

In a way Marinette was happy to think that all those things Cat had said about her were really coming from Adrien too. Adrien thought she was amazing. The thought brought a small smile to her face. Until she remembered that he knew exactly how she felt about him. Adrien knew so much more about her than she ever meant for him to know because she had shared those things with Cat Noir.

She shook her head and sighed as she sat down at her desk. She still had to do that paper for school after all. She focused on the homework more than she normally would since it was a nice distraction from cats and models.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard a knock coming from her balcony. She looked in the direction of the knock with a frown on her face. She almost wanted to just ignore it but that would be suspicious and no matter how she felt about him right now she didn't want Cat worrying about her. She got up and tried to compose herself before heading up to meet her visitor.

When she opened the trap door she saw Cat sitting on the railing looking at her with a cheerful smile on his face. It was a forced one.

"Hey, Cat. You're not hurt from the akuma battle earlier are you?" she asked.

Of course she knew he wasn't because she already confirmed that Adrien was fine, but she didn't need him knowing that she knew his identity. She was still reeling from that and couldn't handle how he may react to her knowing. She would have to tell him eventually but not right now.

"Yeah, I have to admit I did head back a little more hastily than I should have but I have a duty to protect Paris. I had to leave pretty quickly after the battle finished. I felt bad for taking off like I did actually. I think I may have worried Ladybug." He said running a hand through his hair nervously.

Marinette was noticing all the similarities Cat and Adrien shared. Their mannerisms were the same and that mixed in with all the hints he had been dropping should've made it obvious they were the same person so much sooner. She felt like an idiot for not realizing it. She looked at the ground.

"You shouldn't have to put yourself in harm's way like that." She said solemnly.

"Is that what's bothering you? You shouldn't be that concerned for me." He said letting his smile fall.

"Who said I was bothered by anything?" she said.

She noticed she hadn't moved from her place by the trap door. It would've been more natural for her to go stand next to him but she didn't know if she could. She crossed her arms as if to shield herself.

"Well, it's kind of obvious. Your eyes and body language say it all. So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" he asked gently.

Marinette felt her heart and mind filling with worries and her mixture of emotions. She glanced up at him and the concerned look on his face made what she said next even harder to say.

"No." she said.

This shocked Cat Noir. Marinette had always been so open with him so for her to not feel comfortable opening up to him was surprising…and hurtful. He couldn't focus on how that wounded him though. Marinette was clearly very troubled by something and he wanted to help. Even if she didn't trust him for some reason.

"Well, is there any way I can help?" He asked hopefully.

"No." she said shaking her head and keeping her eyes on the ground.

"Marinette, what happened? You've always seemed to be able to tell me everything. Did I do something to lose your trust?" He asked.

He slipped off the railing and started towards her.

"Don't." Marinette said taking a step back.

She wanted him closer. She wanted him to hug her and tell her everything would be okay. She wanted him to comfort her like he had done countless times while she was Marinette and Ladybug. She was afraid though. She was afraid that if he came any closer she would spill her heart out to him again and he would be upset with her. Or would he? He had wanted her to know his identity for a while so maybe he would be okay with her knowing?

Cat Noir's ears flattened but he stopped where he was. He didn't want to upset her any further.

"What did I do? How can I fix whatever I did?" He asked quietly.

"You didn't do anything." Marinette said choking on the last word.

Tears. When exactly had she started crying? She quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks but they kept coming.

He couldn't stand seeing her cry like that. Was it something he did that had upset her so much? Was it just something she felt she couldn't share with him? Either way it was killing him to see her crying and not being able to do anything about it.

"Mari, you know you can tell me anything. Or don't tell me anything. Let me help somehow though." Cat said.

His voice sounded pained and when she chanced a look at him he looked like he was in pain too. He was okay with her not telling him what was wrong? He just wanted to help even if he didn't know the problem.

She wanted to tell him though. She tried to think of a way she could vaguely tell him what was wrong but all of it was too obvious.

"I just…I just need time to think." She said past the tears.

"There's really nothing I can do to help?" He asked.

Marinette looked up at him. Even now she felt calmed by Cat's presence. He had been such a good friend to her and been as honest as he could be. They cared for each other a lot and as strange as it may be she still did trust him.

"Tell me that no matter what things will be okay between us." She said.

"Things will be okay between us. No matter what's wrong we can fix it." He said earnestly.

"Okay. I believe you." Marinette said a small shaky smile on her lips. "Right now I can't tell you what's bothering me though. I need to work some of this out for myself."

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Hey guys. Thank you all so much for your kind words and understanding of my situation. It really means a lot that you guys are willing to be patient. I appreciate all of you so much!_**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

The next couple of days went by rather normally. She stayed up late at night talking through everything with Tikki and she was starting to come to terms with a few things.

One, she could be way more relaxed around Adrien now because he and Cat were the same person and she was relaxed around Cat. She had started to feel that calmness around him at school while looking at the back of his head during class. Unfortunately, as soon as he looked at her she felt her cheeks turning pink and her heart beat speed up. So, while she technically knew they were the same person and that she should feel the same around them she still couldn't enact that change yet.

Two, Cat had been trying to help her every time they spoke about Adrien because he wanted them to be closer in their civilian lives and that was kind of sweet actually. As much as she originally thought it was manipulative of him to talk to her about himself and listen to her talk about him without her knowledge she knew his intentions weren't malicious.

Three, she couldn't be mad at either Cat or Adrien for lying and trying to pretend they didn't know things because she did the same thing all the time for the sake of keeping their identities secret. She had to pretend she wasn't Ladybug around her friends all the time and as Ladybug she had to pretend she didn't know them on a personal level. It was a rule she came up with that neither her nor Cat Noir could share their secret identities with anyone. She couldn't be upset with him for following the rules.

Four, she was going to have to tell him soon that she knew his secret identity and she would most likely have to reveal hers in the process. She was uncertain about that last part. She didn't know how to reveal that she knew and how he would react to her knowing or to who she was. The longer she kept it secret the angrier he would probably be though. But she wanted to process it before telling him about it.

It was easy for the most part to act like nothing was wrong at school because she had all of her friends to talk to about school stuff. The first day she noticed Adrien giving her a lot of secret concerned looks but the second day the looks were way less frequent. She figured he must've thought that whatever problem she was going through she had worked out. Which was true for the most part.

She didn't have any patrols with Cat Noir for the next couple of days either and while she heard him land on her roof the night after their conversation he didn't knock to try and get her attention. She thought about going out to check on him but decided the space was a good thing.

"Hey, Marinette, I need to go shopping this weekend. Did you want to come with me to the mall?" Alya asked as they left the school.

"Oh, um, sure. I'll have to make sure my parents don't need me to help at the bakery though. What day?" Marinette asked.

"Saturday. I'm going to see if Nino and Adrien want to come too so hopefully your parents won't need you. You need to make up for not being able to work on that paper with him." Alya said playfully.

"Can you stop bringing that up? I already feel awful for having to cancel on him but I couldn't help that I was sick. It would've been way worse to end up getting sick in front of him." Marinette said grimacing.

"Yeah, that's true." Alya said chuckling. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"When we visit pigtails tonight can you please just talk to her about what's wrong. Your constant sighing is starting to seem like a medical condition rather than a mental one." Plagg said crossing his arms.

Adrien hadn't been feeling well since the other night. Knowing that Marinette was upset and not being able to help her or talk to her about it or ask if she was okay while they were at school really bothered him. He didn't want to push her but tonight when he went to visit her as Cat Noir he was going to make sure she was feeling better.

When he got to Marinette's he tentatively knocked on the trap door and stepped back waiting to see if she would be willing to talk to him. She poked her head up and gave him a small smile.

"Hello, kitty." She said.

"Hello, Princess." He said giving her a flirtatious smile.

"What are you doing here, Cat?" she asked shaking her head.

"I'm here to check on you. Are you feeling better?" He asked.

She stepped out all the way and leaned against the rail looking over Paris. She had a thoughtful look on her face and although she stood close to him like she normally did Cat noticed she was more tense than usual.

"I am feeling better. Still not perfect but I'm doing better. I just had a big shock and I had to kind of come to terms with some things. I still can't tell you what this is all about but I do promise I will eventually." She said without looking at him.

"This involves me doesn't it?" he asked worriedly.

She jumped but then took a deep breath.

"It does. Before you say anything I already told you that you didn't do anything wrong. I wasn't lying. You said everything will be fine between us and I believe you." She said confidently.

"But…if it involves me can't I help make this right?" He asked hesitantly.

"No. The only one who can fix anything is me. So, since this topic if off limits let's talk about you. Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked turning towards Cat with a smirk.

Cat wondered if he was imagining the flirtation in her eyes. There was something he wanted to talk to someone about and while it might be a little wrong for him to talk to Marinette about this she was the only one who he could talk to as Cat Noir. He couldn't talk to anyone about this as Adrien because too many people would have too many questions.

"Do you think you could like two people at once?" He asked before he could stop himself.

"Yes." Marinette said quickly.

They stared at each other blankly before they registered what just happened and a shocked look came over both of their faces.

"Wait, does that mean you like someone other than Ladybug?" Marinette asked while Cat asked a similar question.

"Does that mean you like someone other than Adrien?"

"I asked you first." Marinette said as her cheeks burned.

Cat stiffened up and looked almost guilty with his flattened ears and droopy tail.

"I- I don't know. I might. That's why I was asking if you think it's possible to like more than one person at a time. So…why did you say yes so quickly?" He asked.

"Well…I have liked more than one person at a time before. I think there's only one person for all of us but it doesn't mean we're going to know who that one person is right away. We may have to find them through trial and error and I think that's okay." Marinette said feeling a little guilty herself.

"Who was the other person you liked besides Adrien?" Cat Noir asked curiously.

"Who's the person you like besides Ladybug?" Marinette asked a little more angrily than she meant.

She couldn't help being a little upset that he would ask a question like that now that she knew who he was. Why would he care anyway? He clearly wasn't comfortable with answering the question and seemed to realize why it wasn't a good question to ask.

"Well, how do you figure out which person you should be with?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. I guess just hanging out with both people and finding out which one you're most comfortable with and have the most fun with and which one you like most." Marinette said giving him a reassuring smile.

"Marinette." He said.

She looked at him expectantly and he felt such a strong urge to tell her how he felt right then. To just tell her that she was the one he had feelings for other than Ladybug. He did like her. Whether she was Ladybug or not. Looking at her now he knew it but… what if he was meant to be with Ladybug? What if he would always feel something for her even if he was with Marinette? Marinette deserved better than that. He couldn't do it.

"I'm so glad to have you in my life." He said instead.

Marinette felt her eyes widen and her cheeks must've been bright red from how much they burned.

"I'm glad to have you in my life too." She said looking away embarrassedly.

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Hey guys. I want to thank you all again for being patient with me this month. I kind of wrote this chapter in a couple hours and I'm deciding to post it without editing it because it's been so long since I posted anything for you guys lol. I appreciate all the support. Leave me a comment to let me know what you think of the chapter. Thank you guys so much. Ya'll are awesome._**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

The next day on her way to class in the morning Marinette ran into someone, literally. She stumbled back a little and nearly dropped her sketch book.

"Woah, you gotta be more careful there."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said quickly steadying herself.

She felt her cheeks start to burn with embarrassment. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going because she was preoccupied thinking about who Adrien could like besides Ladybug. She had a hard time thinking it could be anyone from class but he worked with models all the time so maybe it was someone he worked with. She felt jealous and discouraged and anxious. It was driving her crazy.

She had even considered confessing her feelings to Cat Noir while she was Ladybug because she knew he would accept her feelings if she were in the suit when she confessed. Even though she wanted him to fall for her as Marinette she didn't want to lose him altogether to someone else. Somehow it seemed dishonest to confess to him that way. Maybe it was just too manipulative.

It was strange that this issue made her accept Cat Noir and Adrien being one another so much quicker. The thought of losing her crush and partner to someone else took so much priority that she had to get over the reveal to deal with this problem.

"Hey, are you okay? You look really down."

Finally, Marinette acknowledged the person she had run into. Even though she had stammered an apology out she hadn't really looked at the person she nearly ran over. Once she saw who it was her cheeks burned even more and she felt worse for not acknowledging him earlier.

"H-hey Luka. Yeah, I'm fine, just deep in thought. Sorry about running into you." She said meekly.

"Nah it's cool. I was wondering if you wanted to come over today? The band is having rehearsal and I was going to have some people over to tell us what they think." He explained.

"Oh, I would like to but I would have to be home by like 7. I have some things I have to help with at home." She lied.

The truth was that she had patrol with Cat tonight and she wanted some time to prepare to see him beforehand. She wanted to make sure she was calm and acting normal when she saw him and after the talk they had last night, that was going to be kind of difficult. She had to be able to focus on what was important as Ladybug and that was keeping Paris safe.

"Well rehearsal is around 5 so I'm sure we can get you home on time. Rose and Juleka really respect your opinion and I'd love to hear your thoughts. I know you'll be honest about what you think too." He said.

"Okay." She gave him a cheerful smile. "So I should show up around 5?"

"Hey Marinette, Luka." Adrien said coming over to them.

Marinette couldn't help but notice his friendly smile looked a little strained. It immediately made her concerned but she didn't want to say anything about it with Luka right there.

"Hey Adrien. What's up?" Luka asked.

"Not much. We should probably head to class or we'll be late." Adrien said turning to Marinette.

"Oh, yeah. See you later Luka." Marinette said.

Adrien grabbed Marinette's hand and basically pulled her away without allowing Luka to respond. He didn't let go until they reached the classroom. While Marinette would normally be thrilled to be basically holding hands with Adrien she was feeling more concerned for him. Why would he pull her away from Luka like that? Maybe he knew something she didn't?

"Adrien, is everything okay? You're acting kind of strange." Marinette said when they stopped outside the classroom.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I didn't pull you away from anything important did I?" He asked looking a little guilty.

"No, but, we had plenty of time to get to class and I feel kind of bad for leaving Luka there like that." She said shifting uncomfortably.

This situation felt so awkward for some reason.

"Oh. I guess I just got the time wrong." He said. "So…what were you talking to Luka about?"

"We were just talking about me going over to his house later." She said confused.

It wasn't that odd of a question but the way he asked it was so weird. Maybe it was the way he didn't look at her when he asked the question or how he seemed to frown for a second at her answer.

"Why would you do that? Do you like him or something?" He asked still not looking at her.

For a second she was offended until she realized something; the conversation she had with Cat. He was wondering who she liked as much as she was wondering who he liked. As she looked at him he looked more like Cat Noir at the moment. She smirked and leaned forward.

"Why Adrien Agreste, are you jealous?" she asked playfully.

He jumped and when his eyes locked with hers his cheeks started to turn pink.

"N-no I was just curious!" he exclaimed.

She giggled a little at his shocked reaction.

"I was just messing with you. I know you wouldn't be jealous over someone like me. But I'm just going over to Luka's to watch the band rehearse and give my opinion. Apparently they need some feedback and think I would give a good honest opinion. If you want to come I'm sure they wouldn't mind." She explained.

Adrien felt kind of foolish. He had felt jealous seeing Marinette with Luka. He knew he had no right to be when he was being so indecisive and hadn't told Marinette how he felt. He had no right to be jealous of her being with someone else. Still it had flared up in him when he saw her with Luka.

"No, as much as I would like to I have to rush home today for a photo shoot." He said.

It was true but even if he didn't have that excuse he probably wouldn't have gone. It would be bad for him to see her around Luka. If he got jealous again he may do or say something he would regret. Besides he didn't want to cause any problems for Marinette.

"Oh, that's too bad." She said.

The bell rang and they walked into the classroom and to their seats both of them feeling slightly more somber than before.

Adrien had barely talked to Marinette the rest of the day and he was all she could think of as she got ready to go to Luka's band rehearsal. For some reason it had really upset him to see her talking to Luka. She had been joking about him feeling jealous but maybe he really had. Would this affect her relationship with Cat too?

"Marinette, I know you're upset but there's something we need to talk about." Tikki said.

She sat down on a jewelry box in front of Marinette.

"Oh, okay." Marinette said waiting for Tikki to continue.

Her kwami looked uncomfortable and almost unsure of how to begin.

"So, how long have you known Adrien is Cat Noir?" she asked awkwardly.

Marinette knew her kwami must be feeling uncomfortable because she didn't sound much like herself at all.

"About a week. Why?" she asked worriedly.

"Well, you're going on patrol with him tonight and while I don't want to cause you any unnecessary anxiety… you need to start thinking about how you're going to tell him your identity. Or at least telling him you know his. This is a talk you two need to have soon. The longer you keep it from him the worse the fallout could be." Tikki said.

What happened next is exactly what Tikki was worried would happen. The color drained from Marinette's face and a look of pure terror was in her eyes. Tikki never wanted to cause her Chosen any distress but unfortunately sometimes the best course of action was an uncomfortable one and she had to help her Chosen make the best choices.

"Tikki, I don't know what to do. If I reveal to him as Ladybug that I know his secret identity, then I would feel like I'm still lying to him as Marinette and I just know he would want to know who I am as it would only be fair. Once he knows Ladybug is just Marinette though, I don't know what his reaction will be and I don't know if any reaction would make me happy." She said solemnly.

Tikki looked thoughtful for a moment before replying.

"Maybe it doesn't matter if his response to your reveal is a good one or not. It's possible that no matter how he reacts you won't be happy but in the long run how you feel about his reaction isn't what's important here. Trust is. The longer he doesn't know what you know the longer you're abusing his trust. It's not fair to him Marinette. And the longer you keep it from him the more longer it's going to hurt you. I know you don't like keeping this from him. If you tell him, his reaction may hurt but, it won't hurt as long as your guilt eating you will." Tikki said.

"Tikki, I'm just afraid. I'm so scared I'll lose Adrien but even worse, I'm afraid I'll lose Cat." She said tears forming in her eyes.

Tikki flew up and cuddled against Marinette's cheek, trying to comfort her.

"I know it's scary. Once you tell him you may wonder why you were ever scared in the first place. Adrien respects you as both Ladybug and Cat Noir so I really can't see him being upset with you forever. You should be prepared for him to react like you did though. He's going to need some time to process what you tell him." Tikki said.

Marinette really didn't feel like going to see the rehearsal anymore. She felt sick with anxiety and she needed the extra time to think about what she was going to do about telling Cat she knows his civilian identity. She had already said she was going to go though so she wiped away her tears and headed out.

"Marinette, I'm so glad you could make it. After you rushed off earlier I wasn't sure if you were going to show up on time or not. We just finished setting up." Luka said from aboard his family's ship.

"I asked Juleka after class when and where you guys would be practicing." Marinette said.

She was trying to appear cheerful but she wasn't sure if it was reaching her eyes. Luckily they were finished setting up rather quickly and she could just focus on the music so she could let them know what she thought. There were a couple other people there from her class and a few people she didn't recognize, most likely from Luka's class.

Almost everything everyone had to say was positive, and Marinette acknowledged they had improved immensely since the last time she heard them play.

Of course before she left Luka pulled her aside to ask her what was wrong. Although he may not make it obvious he was a caring person. It's one of the reasons Marinette had liked him when they first met. That crush faded as she started to like Adrien and Cat more. She wasn't able to see anyone else that way when her feelings for him were so strong.

"I just want to make sure you're okay. You were distracted at school earlier and today when you showed up you seemed pretty down." Luka said searching her face.

"I do have a lot on my mind but that's all. I have a decision to make but once I make the decision I'm sure I'll be back to normal." Marinette lied.

"Well, let me know if there's anything I can do to help. I'm always here for you." Luka said.

"Thanks Luka." She said.

She said good-bye to everyone before she headed home. She was already thinking about what she was going to do about the Cat situation. She already kind of knew what she was going to do but she was planning what to say in her head and playing out different scenarios. When she walked into her room she was surprised to find someone waiting there for her.

"Cat?" she asked.

"Sorry I let myself in princess. I didn't know if I waited outside if you would notice when you got home." He said sheepishly from his perch on her bed.

She thought about asking him how he knew she was gone but considering what she had to admit to him later today she thought that would be a bit mean.

"What are you doing here?" she asked setting her things down.

"I just wanted to see you before I went on patrol with Ladybug today." He said.

"Oh. I'm sure you're looking forward to patrol with her." She said immediately regretting how sad she sounded.

"Why does that seem to make you so sad, princess?" He asked.

She hated the way the concern in his eyes made her stomach twist. As much as that look made her want to spill everything to him she wanted to wait as long as she could to tell him. She didn't want that look of concern to turn to one of anger or worse, hatred, for as long as possible.

"No reason." She sighed sitting down on her chaise resting her head in her hands.

After a moment Cat hesitantly came down and sat next to her.

"You should know you can talk to me about anything. Even if you think I can't help I might be able to. I hate seeing you struggling on your own." He said.

"I know." She said.

She leaned against him resting her head on his shoulder. She realized this may be the last time he would be okay with being this close to her so she wanted to take a little advantage of it. At first he stiffened but then he relaxed and she almost thought she could hear him purring.

"Hey, Cat, if I told you I wasn't the person you thought I was would you hate me?" she asked quietly.

"Are you a murderer or something?" he asked.

She couldn't help but smile and roll her eyes at his attempt to lighten the mood.

"No." she answered.

"Well then no I wouldn't hate you. You asked me a while ago if everything would be okay between us no matter what and I told you it would. I promise you the same thing now. Whatever it is you're worried about telling me you don't need to be worried about. No matter what things will be fine between us." He said reassuringly.

"I hope you can keep that promise." She whispered.

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Oh My Goodness you guys! This story hit 200 followers! I am in disbelief. I never expected so many people to like this story much less like it enough to follow it. I am so appreciative. You all are awesome! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried to make it a bit longer than usual to celebrate the milestone so I hope ya'll are okay with that. Thank you all so much!_**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

"You should probably get going." Marinette said after a few moments.

She leaned away from Cat so he could get up but he didn't. He looked at the floor thoughtful and hesitant before looking at her.

"I don't really need to if you don't want me too." He said awkwardly.

That response confused Marinette. He was normally really excited to see Ladybug and nothing had happened between them to cause him to not want to see her. At least as far as she knew. Now she was worrying she had done something that unintentionally hurt him again.

"Don't you normally go on patrol with Ladybug on Thursdays?" she asked, hoping maybe he had just forgotten what day it was.

"How did you know that?" He asked surprised.

"The LadyBlog. It's just speculation at the moment but there are a lot of spotting's of you two together on Thursday nights so I'm assuming you guys patrol together that night." Marinette said shrugging.

She was getting really good at thinking up believable excuses on her feet. Kind of a shame that she was getting good right when she wouldn't need to be anymore.

"It's true Thursdays we patrol together but…Marinette I really care about you so if you ever need me here I'll be here. I'd rather be here than anywhere." He said earnestly.

Marinette stared at him wide-eyed and her heart started beating so hard it hurt. Did that mean what she thought it meant? Was that just wishful thinking? So many thoughts raced through her mind. She wanted to say so much to him, to react in a million different ways at once. She bit her lip and looked away. She had a mission tonight and she couldn't let anything get in the way of that. Especially reading too much into what he just said. She couldn't let herself hope that maybe he liked her, the real her, when she might be about to lose him.

"Cat, you have to go. I'll be fine. Paris needs you and Ladybug. I'll still be here after you're done with patrol. I'll always be here." She said not looking at him.

"Promise Princess?" He asked taking her hand.

"I promise silly kitty." She said giving him a smile.

"Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow." He said.

He bowed and kissed her hand before he left. Marinette stayed where she was for a moment holding her hand to her chest.

"Marinette, it's time." Tikki said gently.

"I know. Let me make sure he's gone before we make a reveal too soon." Marinette said.

She steeled herself as she transformed into Ladybug. She didn't know what was going to happen but she knew what she had to do. She wanted to wait until after they were done with patrol. Making sure Paris was safe for the night before she possibly ruined their partnership was best. She knew that meant she would be kind of distracted but she was hoping there wouldn't be any trouble anyway.

"Hello, M'Lady." Cat said when she landed next to him.

"Hey Cat. You ready to get started?" She asked trying to give him a cheerful smile.

"You're anxious to get started tonight. Everything okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I don't want to worry you or anything but after patrol is over could you spare some time? I kind of have something important to talk to you about." She explained.

"Well, if your goal wasn't to worry me that sentence didn't help." He said smirking.

"Are you able to hang out with me a bit after patrol or not?" She asked nudging him and smiling.

"Of course." He said.

Their patrol went smoothly as far as crime and akumas went but when it came to emotions and interactions it wasn't so smooth. Ladybug stumbled over her words the few times she and Cat had talked and she was generally a mass of jumbled emotions. She was trying to keep focused but her thoughts and eyes kept drifting to her partner. _How is he going to react_? She would wonder before shaking her head and returning her focus to the task at hand.

Finally, they landed back on the Eiffel Tower and Ladybug felt more nervous than she had ever felt in her life. She looked at Cat Noir and felt her heart beat speed up and a lump form in her throat.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about?" He asked giving her an encouraging smile.

She wrapped her arms around herself and turned away from him and closed her eyes tightly. She was praying the tears she already felt coming would leave. She was hoping she wasn't going to be sick even though she felt like she would.

"Um…god Cat, this is going to be really hard to get through so…" she took a deep shaky breath.

"It's okay. I'm here for you, Ladybug." He said taking a step towards her.

He wasn't sure if he should comfort her somehow or not. He was getting the feeling she didn't want him too close to him.

"First thing's first." She whispered and sighed. "I know who you are outside of the costume."

She said it quickly but clearly and she flinched. She expected him to be upset in some way. She expected some big reaction but after a moment she relaxed and peeked at Cat. He looked shocked and confused.

He didn't know what to make of it. What? How? When? What did she think now that she knew? He had so many questions and he was kind of embarrassed at the same time. He had wanted her to know who he was but he wanted to reveal himself to her not have it happen by accident.

"Huh?" was his articulate response.

"I uh, I kind of saw you detransform and I, I saw who you are outside of the costume." She said awkwardly.

"And…are you okay with…it?" He asked just as awkward.

"Yes! I mean, it took some time for me to process but…you're my partner and my friend and I like who you are outside of the mask too." She said.

She knew she must've been red as a tomato from how hot her face was. It helped a little that Cat's cheeks were turning red too.

"Oh, good." He said sheepishly.

"Right. So…I figure it's only fair if…ya know I…show who I am too?" she said quietly.

Cat's eyes were wide with surprise. He looked as if he didn't believe he had heard her correctly.

"Are…are you serious?" He asked.

"Well, as long as you want to know." She said embarrassedly.

She still felt sick. As excited as he may be feeling now he was going to be pretty upset in one way or another once he found out who she really was.

"Of course I do! But…not here. It's not safe here. Someone told me lots of people have been seeing us out and about on Thursdays." Cat said.

Ladybug had to hide her giggle but she was thankful he was concerned for her well-being.

They went to a better concealed place. Cat had suggested his house since; she already knew who he was anyway but she wanted it to be somewhere that either of them could leave quickly if they wanted too. So they chose one of the towers on top of Notre Dame. No one would see them up that high and either one of them could get away easily.

"Would it be easier if I was Adrien?" Cat asked as Ladybug paced.

"No no, it's actually probably better this way." She said. "I want to ask you not to freak out but without you knowing who I am that would be an empty promise."

"No matter who you are I won't freak out. I've already thought of a lot of possibilities and…well, I know you aren't Chloe so that's all that matters." He said smirking.

Ladybug couldn't help but chuckle a little at his joke. In a way it did calm her down. She wouldn't be as big of a letdown as Chloe would be. With a deep breath she closed her eyes.

"Tikki, spots off." She said.

The flash of pink changed her back to Marinette but she kept her eyes shut tight and she felt like the world was spinning and she heard her heartbeat, loud and fast. She felt like her whole body was on fire. She didn't dare open her eyes. She didn't want to see his reaction.

"How long?" He asked.

His voice wasn't as warm as she had hoped it would be but it wasn't cold either. Finally, she opened her eyes. She had to face him while they talked this out. When she opened her eyes tears instantly sprang to them. She saw her worst fear. He was upset. Sad and confused and disappointed and a little angry. He looked at her like she had slapped him.

"How long have you known who I really am?" He asked.

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _The response on my last chapter was amazing. Honestly the comments I got were so sweet. I'm glad you guys are enjoying it so far. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint. Let me know what you think with a comment. I have a few more things planned for these two but we are nearing the end. Thank you for all the support you guys. Ya'll are awesome!_**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

"How long have you known who I really am?" He asked.

Marinette understood perfectly why he wanted to know. Just as she had felt somewhat manipulated he felt the same way. If she had known for a long time it could seem like she was trying to get close to Cat to be closer to Adrien.

"I've only known for about a week. The day we fought the bomb akuma. I found out after the fight." She said shakily.

She thought her legs were going to give out under her. A look passed through his eyes though. A thoughtful look, one that softened his anger a little bit. He shifted as he processed the information for a while.

"You found out who I was and pushed me away." He said.

He sounded hurt and Marinette felt awful.

"Only because I needed time. I-I had so many feelings about both sides of you. I felt kind of manipulated. You talked to me about yourself. I confessed to my crush without really knowing it. I liked someone who only liked my superhero side. I went through a lot of emotions. I'm still going through a lot of emotions. I'm scared I'll lose two of the most important people in my life. I'm scared you'll be disappointed that it's me. I don't want to lose you. But I knew you needed to know. We couldn't keep going how we were." She said her voice cracking.

He didn't rush over to comfort Marinette like he would've mere hours ago. He looked from her to the floor a few times. She wished he would say something. Say he hated her. Say he felt betrayed. Even say he needed time and take off without another word. She knew she couldn't wish for him to say he wasn't disappointed but she wanted him to say something.

"I-I'm sorry." She said falling to her knees.

She couldn't keep standing when she felt so weak. She wiped away the tears but they kept coming.

"For what?" He asked.

He was still looking her over with hurt and confused eyes.

"For knowing who you are and not telling you. For being me instead of Ladybug. For having to lie to you as Marinette. You deserve a better partner and a better friend." She said through the tears.

"I'm not…I don't…Ugh!" He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "I-I need some time to think."

"I understand." Marinette said.

She stared at the ground in front of her as she felt like her heart shattered. She knew he was going to need time so why did it hurt so much?

"Are you going to be able to get home alone?" He asked.

She looked up at him and though he wasn't looking at her the question alone proved he at least still cared. She held onto that. No matter what he still cared about her safety.

"Y-yeah. Thank you." She whispered.

With that he was gone and she was left on top of Notre Dame sad and alone. Once she was sure he was too far away to hear she let herself cry as hard as she needed too.

"So, I know that was a bit much to have dumped on you but...ARE YOU INSANE!?" Plagg asked Adrien.

That was a lot coming from the normally indifferent kwami but his façade of apathy had to drop for this situation. He couldn't believe the good luck in what had happened and his Chosen had reacted in the most backwards way ever. He should be overjoyed and yet here he was feeling down about it.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that." Adrien said as he paced his room.

"You have been an intolerable mess of teenage hormones for such a long time, agonizing over possibly liking two girls at once and not knowing which one to choose and now you are handed the best case scenario of them being the same person and you leave her crying on top of Notre Dame! What is wrong with you!?" Plagg scolded.

He had warned Adrien about possibly hurting Pigtails or Ladybug and then he goes and hurts both of them and then leaves them alone crying on top of a monument. He had the worst reaction possible.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Adrien yelled.

He seemed shocked by himself and sat down on the couch with a huff. He closed his eyes and rested his head in his hands.

"I don't know what's wrong with me Plagg. I feel so angry. She lied to me. She lied to both sides of me as both sides of her." He said.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news kid, but so did you." Plagg said crossing his arms.

He was having none of this playing the victim. They both decided the best course of action was to keep their identities hidden and they both lied to each other all the time. Marinette at least came clean now. Adrien wasn't allowed to blame her for any of this.

"I know. I know I have no right to be angry at her for things that I did too but the feeling keeps coming back. All those times I confided in her about Ladybug I was talking to Ladybug and didn't even know it." He said. "All the signs were there too and I just…I saw them and ignored them. I thought there was no way it would be her. I think in a way I thought if it was her she would've told me."

"So what now kid?" Plagg asked.

"I don't know Plagg. I may have screwed up royally this time." He said trying to ignore the tears that started to sting his eyes.

The next day at school everyone could sense the somber mood coming off of Marinette and Adrien. They avoided each other as much as possible all day. Marinette wanted to give him as much space as possible and felt bad for disappointing him. Sometimes she regretted revealing who she was but she would shake away the thought, it was the right thing to do.

Adrien was avoiding Marinette out of embarrassment mostly. As much as he felt hurt and angry he regretted how he had reacted the night before. He didn't know how to bring up the subject though. And with his emotions still being so high he didn't want to risk his anger flaring up and her being the target. She had taken a week to process the information so maybe it would be okay for him to take the same time.

"God how did she stand being around me at school while she felt betrayed? How could she keep both of our secrets safe while staring at me during class all day? I feel like I'm going insane." Adrien said as he hid in the bathroom with Plagg.

It was nearly the end of the day but he had needed a break and a pep talk from Plagg, who was not offering a pep talk.

"I guess Pigtails is just better at putting the well-being of others ahead of herself." Plagg said.

"I want to be mad at you but you're right. She is pretty selfless. Both as Marinette and Ladybug." Adrien said sadly.

"Oh my God just talk to her! I don't understand what you're so upset about. She likes you remember! She's not mad at you for leaving her to cry and she's gotten over you lying to keep your identity safe. You're the only one making this a problem." Plagg said.

"You don't get it." Adrien said.

"What do I not get?" Plagg asked frustrated.

"I can't get over what I did to the girl I love okay!? I hurt her. I made her feel betrayed. All of this happened because I decided I wanted to play hero and protect Mari, who by the way is a superhero herself. And do you have any idea how many times I said she wasn't? God I feel so stupid! And I did manipulate her. She has every right to think I did. I helped her feel more comfortable around Adrien because I wanted her more comfortable around me. I put us both through all this. This huge emotional mess. I hate that I did this." He said.

Plagg didn't know what to say. He wanted to help his Chosen but in a way he wasn't wrong. He didn't know how to spin this to make Adrien feel better. He knew if he just talked to Marinette everything could be fixed but Adrien had to take that first step then.

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Confession, I didn't like the last chapter but you guys loved it so that's a win. Hopefully since the cliffhanger didn't last too long ya'll won't hate me too much lol. Also I hope this explains Adrien's reaction to you guys. Let me know what you guys think with a comment. Thanks for all the support you guys. Ya'll are awesome!_**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Okay, so I need to get some clothes and I was hoping to get a new camera too. My cell phone has been working pretty well for the LadyBlog but a camera might make it look more…professional." Alya said.

Marinette hadn't needed to help her parents at the bakery on Saturday so she was heading to the mall with Alya like she said she would. It was kind of nice to have distracting conversation with Alya. With everything she had been going through having a normal trivial conversation with her best friend was very much needed.

"Yeah, I think the cell phone gives it a really realistic feeling but maybe for the portions of the show where you just talk about the superheroes and what happened a real camera would be nice." Marinette said.

"That's what I'm saying. Like, field work is almost better when filmed on a cell phone because people feel more like they're there but when anything else is filmed on a cell it just looks…bad." Alya said with a scowl.

"I don't think anyone really paid much attention to the quality because they're so interested in what you have to say though." Marinette pointed out.

"So…Nino and Adrien will be meeting us up there." Alya said gently.

"Oh, that's good." Marinette said shakily.

She tried to smile though she really didn't want to. Adrien had really hurt her that night and his reaction made her feel like she had really hurt him too. She knew he may need time but that didn't change how she felt.

"Girl, your fake smiles are really bad." Alya said "What's been going on between you and Adrien? You guys have been acting really strange for quite a while now."

"Well, I thought we were getting really close but…we got into a fight the other day." Marinette said biting her lip.

"What about?" Alya asked worriedly.

"I…I don't think I can tell you. It's between the two of us and it's not really my place to tell you. Just, we both kind of broke each other's trust. That's all I can say about it." Marinette said solemnly.

There she was again, having to lie to the people who cared about her. Would it hurt Alya if she found out Marinette was Ladybug too? She was really starting to hate that being a superhero came with a secret identity.

"Was it really so serious that you guys had to stop talking to each other? I mean, you guys are still friends, right?" Alya asked.

"I hope so. He said everything would be fine between us…I still believe it will. I think he just needs some time and I want to give him the time he needs to think about things. I just…I hope we can become close again soon." Marinette said quietly.

"So…should I slap him for you or something?" Alya asked smirking at her friend.

"No no." Marinette giggled. "At least not now. If he ever deserves a good slap, I'll let you know."

"Wow. That's new. I never thought you would talk about Adrien that way." Alya said surprised.

"I…I kind of know a new side of him and I feel comfortable enough to joke around with him now. He felt the same about me." She said smiling fondly at the memories of banter with Cat.

"Well whatever you guys are fighting about I'm sure it will be resolved soon. Adrien is a nice a forgiving guy and you're a nice and forgiving girl. You guys will be back to being friends in no time." Alya said giving Marinette a confident smile.

Alya's words really lifted Marinette's spirit. Maybe things would be okay with Adrien again some day soon.

They met Adrien and Nino by the entrance and Marinettes mood fell when she noticed Adrien's smile faltered and his body language was tense when he saw them approaching. She suddenly felt self-conscious and she wondered if maybe he hadn't been expecting them. Maybe he thought it was just going to be him and Nino. Maybe he wouldn't have agreed to come if he knew Marinette was coming. After all, if he needed time away from her why would he be here if he knew she would be here?

They all exchanged hello's, some more awkward than others.

"Did you tell Marinette about the new place that opened up?" Nino asked Alya.

"Oh right! We got distracted by other topics on the way here. There's a new fabric store that opened up. It's on the second floor, I think it's by an F.Y.E." Alya said.

That perked Marinette up a bit.

"I don't have any designs I need fabric for at the moment. The one that I'm working on I already have fabric for but I would definitely want to stop in for a second." Marinette said cheerfully.

"Maybe you'll get some inspiration while browsing." Adrien said.

His voice sounded like he was trying to be upbeat and friendly but he wasn't looking at Marinette at all. Still she smiled, he was trying and that alone made her feel grateful.

"Yeah, you might be right." She said.

Alya gave her friend a knowing smile.

While Alya and Marinette went into a clothing store the boys took the first chance they got to get out of there and go to the game store across from them. They didn't know how long the girls may take but they were going to spend as much time as possible in the video game store. They were surprised when Alya was the only one to come over to get them.

"Marinette said she was going to check out that fabric store since it's nearby. I figured I would pick you boys up before we went to get her." Alya said.

When they made it to the fabric store it was clear Marinette was going to be spending quite a long time looking through everything. She seemed so enthralled that they would feel bad asking her to stop so they could move on.

"You guys go on to the next store and get your camera. Me and Marinette can meet you guys at the food court at 3 if that sounds okay?" Adrien suggested.

Alya and Nino exchanged some concerned looks since they both knew things had been awkward and tense between Marinette and Adrien.

"Are you sure that's a good idea dude?" Nino asked.

"Yeah. Besides it might be good to force us to talk. It's the only way I'm gonna get up the nerve to talk things out with her." Adrien said.

"While I appreciate you wanting to make things right with her I have to warn you Agreste, you bring my best friend back to me upset I may have to hurt you." Alya said narrowing her eyes at him.

"I would like to promise you that I won't but I'm surprisingly good at upsetting her without meaning too." Adrien said.

Alya glared at him and looked like she was about to tell him off but Nino grabbed her by the shoulders and steered her out of the store.

"See you at 3 dude." He called back.

Adrien was perfectly content to watch Marinette go through fabric, her expressions between intense focus and excitement as she went through the store. She compared fabrics against one another as if getting outfit ideas and the way her eyes would light up when she thought she found the perfect combination warmed his heart. He wanted nothing more than to see her like that all the time. In her own little world, at peace, happy.

Unfortunately, 3 came too quickly and he had to pull her away. Reluctantly he went up to her.

"Hey, Marinette?" He said hesitantly.

"Which of these blues looks better with this white and this gold?" She asked.

She was holding two blue fabrics against some shimmery white and gold fabrics. The two blues looked identical to Adrien. He was a model so he knew if she was asking that that they must be just slightly different but he couldn't see it.

"I um, I don't know?" he said.

"Yeah, I can't figure it out either." She sighed frowning.

"So, um, we kind of have to go meet Alya and Nino at the food court about now." He said.

"Oh! Oh, how long have I been browsing?" She asked worriedly.

"Only about 45 minutes." Adrien said smirking.

"Oh no! I am so sorry. You wasted your whole trip here with me. Wait, where are Alya and Nino?" she asked as she suddenly started to come back to reality.

"I told them to leave so they could finish shopping. We're supposed to meet them at the food court." He explained.

"Oh. Well, at least Alya got everything she probably wanted then. I'm still sorry you wasted your time here with me though." She said.

"You don't need to apologize. I enjoyed myself actually. Were you going to buy anything?" He asked.

She looked at the fabrics she had laid on the table in front of her. She knew the prices would be too high for her to get all of them.

"I think some of this pink velvet." She said picking one of them up.

She paid for the fabric and they left the store.

"So…I wanted to talk to you a bit." Adrien said sheepishly.

"O-oh. W-what about?" Marinette said nervously.

"About everything. I want you to know-" he started.

He was cut off by screams that were followed by maniacal laughter. They didn't know if they were relieved or frustrated that an akuma decided to appear right then.

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Thank you guys so much. The support I've been receiving has been unbelievable. We are so close to the end now guys. I never even intended this to be this long but the story got away from me lol. I hope you all are still enjoying the story. Leave a comment to let me know what you guys think. As always, I appreciate any and all support. You guys are awesome sauce lol._**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

"All you people thinking you're better than us. Talking down to us, yelling at us over things we have no control over just because you know we have to remain silent. We'll see how you like it when you're the one who has to remain silent and listen to me."

A boy, maybe 17 came waltzing out of a clothing store. He was wearing white shirt with a striped vest over it and a hat with the stores logo on it, he was carrying a clip board. Over his eyes was the translucent butterfly mask proving that he was akumatized.

Adrien and Marinette wasted no time finding a place to transform. They ducked into the nearest bathrooms and emerged in their superhero personas. It was a little bit of a shock to both of them to see the other emerge in superhero form. In that moment Cat Noir came to a horrifying realization. Marinette and Ladybug were the same person. If Ladybug got hurt so did Marinette. If he failed to protect Ladybug…he would lose both of the people he loved in a single moment. He knew he couldn't let it get to him but the thought alone was making him panicked.

Cat pushed Ladybug out of the way just in time but got hit by the vase himself. This akuma had telekinesis, he could move objects with his mind. He had used it to tie up a bunch of customers in the clothing store and since then had been using it to throw all sorts of mall displays at the superheroes.

"Cat, what are you doing?" Ladybug hissed.

"Protecting you like I always said I would M'Lady." He said rubbing his cheek.

"First of all, don't go putting yourself in danger like that. What am I supposed to do if you get hurt? Fight the akuma alone? Secondly, I was going to hit that back at him to distract him. If I wanted to dodge it, I could have. You know I'm just as capable a superhero as you are." She said.

There was an edge to her voice but she couldn't help it. He had been spending all his energy protecting her this whole battle, treating her like a glass doll. She was starting to think that now that he knew she was Marinette he no longer thought she could handle herself in a fight. Once again her fears were validated. The reveal had always been a bad idea and she wished she had never seen Cat Noir transform back into Adrien.

"It's not that I don't think you're capable." Cat started.

He was going to say more but he was sent flying backwards. He had been hit, and was now pinned under, a recliner that the akuma was forcing down onto him.

Ladybug turned a cold glare onto the akuma. She noticed he could only actively control one item at a time so she was free from the fear of being hit by flying furniture for the moment. Either she was going to be able to fight him and beat him now while he was busy trying to crush Cat or he would have to turn his focus on her which would free Cat Noir. She rushed towards the akuma, her eyes on the clip board he had with him.

After the akuma was defeated there was no fist bump. Just a shared look, they both had a lot of things to say to one another. They really needed to talk. Both of them knew this needed to be resolved as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, they both realized their talk was going to have to wait a little longer when they detransformed and their phones went off with all the texts and calls they had missed.

"I got a text from Alya, they're outside the mall waiting for us. They're worried sick." Marinette said as she met Adrien outside the bathroom.

"Yeah, I have a few frantic texts from Nino too." Adrien said.

"I know we need to talk and technically our day at the mall is over but we can't keep them waiting and worried. Would you be okay with coming over to talk later?" Marinette asked.

She was fresh out of the costume at felt lucky that some residual confidence seemed to have stuck with her. She didn't know how long that confidence was going to stick with her but she felt it was safe to assume it wouldn't last all the way until their talk later.

"You okay if I stop by via balcony?" He asked.

Though he was giving her a smirk she could hear the sheepish hesitance in his voice and she saw the uncertainty in his eyes. It was as if he was unsure of how he was allowed to act around her. She wanted him to know that she liked how they were acting before. Smirking was a start.

"I wouldn't have it any other way silly kitty." She said giving him a reassuring smile.

If you had told Adrien that his heart had stopped at that moment, he wouldn't have doubted you. The look she had given him, the affection in her eyes and her sweet smile. He would give anything to see that look all the time.

"You guys were in there the whole time?" Alya asked rushing up to them and checking them for injuries.

"Yeah, we were on our way to you guys when the fight broke out. There were bathrooms nearby so we ducked inside of those until the fight was over." Adrien said running a nervous hand through his hair.

"And you guys couldn't respond to our worried texts why?" Alya asked.

"WellIwantedtobuttherewasjustsomuchgoingonandIwasjustkindafreakingoutandyouknowIdon'tknowhowtoproperlyreactinthosesituationssoIjustwasn'tthinkingrightand…I'm sorry." Marinette said.

Alya and Nino stared at Marinette while they tried to decipher what she had just said.

"Yeah, it's like she said." Adrien said calmly.

"Uh-huh. Well, just don't do that to me ever again. I swear ya'll are gonna put me in a very early grave. I'm going to have a heart attack over you two." Alya complained.

Marinette felt bad but had to admit she was relieved that they all separated shortly after that. She had to prepare for the talk she and Adrien were going to have that night. She was nervous but as it got darker outside there was a strange sense of calm that settled in her chest. This was it after all. Whatever happened tonight it would be the end of her anxiety. She and Adrien would say everything they had to and then they would figure out what to do from there.

She went out to her balcony with two cups of hot chocolate. She set one on one of the stands and sipped on the other while she looked out over Paris. No matter what happened she and Cat Noir were going to have to find out a way to continue to save their home. While she worried about what this could mean for their relationship their team work as superheroes was what was most important. This wasn't an important conversation just for them but for all of Paris.

She heard a little thud behind her and turned to see Cat Noir. She gave him a shy smile. It had been a while since they had seen each other like this and it warmed her heart.

"How're you doing, Princess?" He asked.

His sentence was a little awkward, there was a pause before Princess as if he was unsure if it was okay for him to use the nickname now.

"I'm doing okay. How're you?" She asked.

"Um, I'm okay I guess." He said.

They stood there shuffling their feet and looking anywhere but at one another. Neither one was really sure how this should start. Then Marinette saw the mug of hot chocolate she had brought up for Cat.

"Oh, I made you some hot chocolate." She said picking up the mug and holding it out to him.

"Oh, thank you. That was sweet of you." He said taking the mug with a grateful smile.

"So, um, did you want to go inside or should we stay out here?" she asked.

"Oh, uh, I guess which ever would make you feel most comfortable." He said awkwardly.

Some more silence and awkward glances.

"Are we being stupid about this whole thing?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know." Cat said "It's kind of a big deal isn't it?"

"Well yeah, but we've both taken some time to think it through and…we've both come to terms with who we are in and out of the suit…haven't we?" she asked looking at him nervously.

"Yeah. And you're okay with me being Adrien?" He asked.

"Of course. I can't believe I've been this close to you this whole time. I'm such good friends with you in both your forms and I can't think of anyone I trust more. I wouldn't want to save Paris with anyone else. Knowing you're Adrien I feel like I understand you so much better too." Marinette said and hesitated before she continued. "And…you're okay with me being Ladybug?"

"Of course I am. You're the best possible person to be Ladybug!" He said.

Marinette looked up at him completely shocked. After everything that had been happening she was sure he was disappointed. That he didn't believe that she could do the job. He…he was really happy that she was Ladybug?

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Hey guys, I hope you all are doing well. I'm so thankful for the overwhelming amount of support I've gotten from you all. It's truly amazing and as we come to the end I want you all to know how much I truly appreciate you guys. The comments and follows and favorites have just been the highlights of my days on so many occasions. It's encouraging to see how much people love something I've written even if it's a silly fanfiction. It's reinvigorated my enthusiasm for writing even when it comes to my original works. So thank you all so much._**

 ** _Oh, also my birthday was on the 12_** ** _th_** ** _. 20 points to anyone who can guess my age correctly lol. Because I think you all would be surprised to know my real age._**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"But…I thought you hated the idea of me being Ladybug. The way you acted when I revealed who I was and how you acted today during the akuma attack. I thought you didn't trust me, or believe in me anymore." Marinette said confused.

"It's not that. It's…okay so let's step back from that for a moment, okay? You remember how I told you there was someone I love other than Ladybug?" He asked.

"Y-yeah, I remember." Marinette said.

It still stung a little that it turned out both the boys she had affection for liked someone else.

"Well, this isn't how I thought any of this would go but…that other person is you Mari. The more I came and visited you as Cat and the more I got to see you when you felt comfortable the more drawn to you I was." He said. "You've always been a sweet, brave, creative, smart girl. I was always so infatuated with Ladybug but the closer we got the more I couldn't deny I had feelings for both of you."

Marinette was wondering how many times she was going to be stunned tonight. She was the other person he liked. Suddenly she started laughing she couldn't help it. It was too ironic. Cat was starting to blush, wondering if he just made a fool of himself.

"I guess we both fell for each other twice." She said through her giggles.

"What do you mean?" he asked shocked.

"When you asked me if there was someone I liked other than Adrien and I said I did like more than one person before…well, before I knew you were Adrien I was starting to fall for you…the Cat Noir version." She said trying to hide her blush.

"Wait, you like this version of me? Like…like, like this version of me?" He asked excitedly.

Marinette just nodded her head a huge smile on her face. He wanted to run up and hug her. He felt so amazing. And they weren't even using past tense. She still liked him now. She didn't just like the model version, she liked the side of him that he thought was the most authentic. There was more they had to talk about though. The tension had mostly left but they were still holding themselves at a distance, unsure of how the rest of the conversation would affect…well, everything.

"So, the way you reacted in the battle today?" Marinette prompted hesitantly.

This was the part she wanted to make sure got cleared up first. As much as everything else they discussed so far made her feel like she was on cloud nine she needed to ensure they could keep Paris safe.

"I trust that you can handle yourself in a fight and I know you can save Paris. But my goal has always been to protect you as much as I can. And now knowing that if I lose Ladybug I lose Marinette too. I don't think I could ever handle losing both of you at once. I just…I want to stop anything bad from happening to you if I can." He said.

The hurt look on his face was the push Marinette needed. She walked up to him and put a hand on his cheek and forced him to look at her.

"You're not going to lose either version of me. But we need to be able to work together to protect Paris. I don't want anything bad to happen to you either. I know it's going to be a little rough at first but we need to have the same rhythm we had before. We need to be in sync again. I need you to trust me." She said gently.

He placed his hand on top of hers to hold it against his cheek. He closed his eyes and just cherished the feeling for a moment. When he opened his eyes again he saw Marinettes cheeks were tinted pink.

"I know. I'll try. I can't promise I won't want to keep you from getting hurt though." He said.

She gave him a little smile but then her eyes turned sad again and she stepped back. She wrapped her arms around herself as if to shield herself from what may come next.

"And how you reacted the night I revealed who I am? I knew you needed some time but you looked so hurt and angry…" she trailed off and couldn't look at him.

"I was hurt and angry at first. Regardless of that I am sorry for how I reacted. It was uncalled for but I didn't know if I was mad at you or myself and I felt like if I stayed around you I might've lashed out at you." He explained.

"Mad at yourself?" Marinette asked confused.

Well, of course I was a little upset at you for all the things I'm sure you were mad at me for. You comforted me as Marinette right after hurting my ego as Ladybug and you and I talked about Ladybug on occasion. You had to pretend you didn't know things you obviously knew but…we both had to do that to protect our identities. I questioned every interaction we had during the week that you knew my identity to see if anything changed. If you had any ulterior motives. I don't think you did. I didn't stay mad at you for long. It still bothers me a little that all this time I was looking for Ladybug and she was the amazing girl sitting behind me in class." He said with a sheepish smile.

"I'm glad you forgive me for always having to lie to you and for not telling you that I knew who you were right away when I found out your identity. But if you didn't stay angry at me for very long then why have you still been avoiding me?" Marinette asked worriedly.

"The thing that was harder to get over was the anger I had at myself. I betrayed you, the sweetest person on the planet. And I did manipulate you. Every time I tried to help you with your problems towards Adrien I helped because I wanted us to be closer friends. It was completely selfish. I went over to your house as Cat Noir without you knowing I was Adrien and tried to be close to you that way. I actively tried to be around you as Cat Noir and kept so much from you while I did that. I don't deserve forgiveness from you." Cat said unable to look at Marinette.

"I decide who deserves forgiveness from me. I think you judge yourself too harshly. You may have had ulterior motives but I think you were mostly pushed to help me because you are a kind person. I was more comfortable around Cat than Adrien so I can't blame you for wanting to hang out with me as Cat. I don't want you to be mad at yourself on my account. I'm not mad at you so you shouldn't be mad at you." Marinette said.

"That's easier said than done." He said solemnly.

"Cat Noir are you honest with me?" Marinette asked stepping up to him again.

He looked up at her shocked by her question. After the conversation they've been having he wasn't sure if this was some kind of trick question.

"Y-yes. As honest as I can be." He said worriedly.

"You told me things would be okay between us. Did you lie to me or are we going to make things fine between us?" she asked with a smirk.

Cat Noir couldn't stop the smile that came to his face. He pulled Marinette into a hug and nuzzled his face into her hair. He heard her giggle as she wrapped her arms around him too. There was a flash of green light and Marinette felt the leather against her arms turn into cotton. Marinette leaned back a bit and looked up at Adrien.

"Well, it's nice to see you Mr. Agreste." She said smirking.

"I want you to hear it from both sides of me. I like you Marinette." He said planting a kiss on her forehead.

She squeaked and felt like her face was on fire. She buried her face against his chest to hide how red she was.

"W-was that too far?" He asked worriedly.

"N-no. It's just…that's a lot coming from someone I've had a crush on for so long." She squeaked.

"Oh jeez, I am so done with teenagers." Plagg said rolling his eyes.

Marinette jumped back from Adrien in shock and looked around for the source of the voice. Her eyes landed on a tiny floating black cat.

"Oh, Marinette, this is Plagg. He's my kwami. He's um…well, it may take some time to get used to his personality but he's got a good heart." Adrien said awkwardly.

"Hey Pigtails, where's Tikki? I feel like it's been forever since I've seen her." He said.

"Plagg, be nice." Adrien hissed.

Marinette just giggled.

"Why don't we all go inside? We can finish talking there. And you can meet my kwami too." Marinette said chipperly.

 ** _Author's Notes._**

 ** _Alright you guys. I think I can wrap this up in one more chapter. It's been a wild ride and I appreciate all of you for joining me on it. This has been so different from what I expected. This whole experience is one I wouldn't trade. The constant support from you guys has been amazing. Thank you all so much._**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Finale

As soon as they entered Marinette's bedroom Tikki and Plagg flew up to each other and immersed themselves in a conversation. Marinette was pretty sure she heard Plagg call Tikki sugar cube which was just adorable. She made a mental note to introduce Tikki to Adrien properly later.

"It feels a little weird to have you sneaking into my room as Adrien instead of Cat." Marinette said with an awkward giggle.

"Yeah. It feels a little strange on my end too. I guess it will take a while for us to really get used to both sides being the same person." Adrien said just as awkward.

"I can't believe all those battles with akumas Adrien Agreste was the one fighting by my side and saving my life." Marinette said sitting down on her chaise.

"And you didn't even take the chance to swoon." Adrien said.

He instantly turned bright red, realizing he was out of the suit. Marinette looked stunned at first but then she smirked.

"In your dreams kitty." She said despite her cheeks turning pink.

"I can't believe all the times I was worried about Marinette while she was fighting right next to me. I understand why you couldn't leave the saving to the heroes now." He said sitting down next to her.

"I have to admit it was sweet to know you were worried about me." Marinette said softly.

"But…you thought it was just Cat that was worried about you those times." Adrien said confused.

"I told you I like both sides of you silly." Marinette said.

"How…how long have you liked both sides of me? I mean, I guess you don't have to answer if you don't want to. Knowing that you like both sides is good enough honestly but I'm just kind of curious." He said sheepishly.

Marinette thought about it for a moment.

"Well, I think I liked both sides for a while but I realized it…oh, um…heh this is embarrassing but you remember when I asked you if you would ever date someone like me?" Marinette asked looking at the floor while her cheeks burned.

"Oh." Adrien's voice was a mixture of hurt and concerned. "About that night, I was just still trying to figure out-"

"Adrien, you don't have to explain yourself. It's just that it was shortly after that night that I realized I like Cat." Marinette explained.

"I want to explain myself though. I've hurt you so many times even if it was unintentional. Any time that I can try to explain and try to fix…well, I want the chance to do so." He said earnestly.

"Oh. Um, okay then." Marinette said.

She felt a little awkward about the situation but if he really wanted a chance to explain his reaction that night it would be wrong for her to not give him that chance.

"I was still trying to figure out if I liked Marinette even if she wasn't Ladybug. I thought there was a chance you were Ladybug and Plagg gave me the advice not to pursue you unless I was sure I liked you whether you were Ladybug or not. I didn't want to answer yes or no while I was still unsure. I felt like that wouldn't be fair. But I've been sure for quite some time now. Marinette even if you weren't Ladybug I would still have feelings for you." He said taking her hands in his.

Marinette felt tears forming in her eyes.

"That's…that's something I've always been afraid of. That if I revealed who I was you would only love me because I was Ladybug but not for who I really am. Thank you. Thank you so much." She said.

She removed her hands from his and threw her arms around him. He was shocked at first but hugged her back.

"I'm just glad you guys finally know. Having to hide knowing that Pigtails was Ladybug was excruciating when he was being all drama queen about who he loves." Plagg said.

"H-hey! That's right, you knew and still lectured me when you could've just told me she was Ladybug. And she doesn't need to hear that I was a drama queen. Wait I mean, I wasn't a drama queen at all! Ever!" Adrien said.

Marinette dissolved into giggles as the conversation turned to how often they just missed seeing each other. All the slip ups they made and how it was odd neither one ever caught on. Being able to talk about their adventures like this was nice for both of them. Being able to talk about their superhero lives without the costumes, without any identities to keep hidden. It felt so freeing and safe and open.

"So, what do we do now?" Marinette asked leaning her head on Adrien's shoulder.

"About what?" He asked leaning his head on hers.

"Well, we can't go back to how things were and I don't want to start over so…how do we deal with our lives as superheroes and civilians?" she asked.

It was a good question. If they suddenly seemed really close as civilian's people, like their best friends, would wonder what had happened. As superheroes the answer was easier because obviously they just had to continue doing what they always did, save Paris while watching each other's backs.

"Well, we already said we were going to need some practice getting back into the groove of things. Since ya know the urge to protect my princess while she's on the battlefield will be hard to fight." He said turning to give her a kiss on the top of her head.

She turned bright red at that and Adrien was glad she couldn't see the red blush on his face too.

"You'll just have to remember your princess is a _warrior_ princess." Marinette said not daring to look at his face.

Hearing her say that she is his princess put a big smile on Adrien's face.

"I don't know if I'm going to be able to act normal when I see you in class though." Adrien admitted.

"I don't know if I'll be able to either. Maybe we could just come up with some story to explain why we seem closer now?" she suggested.

"Well…maybe we won't have to come up with a story because…Marinette, I'd like to ask you on a date." Adrien said.

"What?" Marinette asked shocked.

She sat up and looked at him. She was not expecting that after everything they had been talking about tonight.

"I want to properly date you, Marinette. Even if we both like each other I don't think I've earned the right to ask you to be my girlfriend or anything like that so if you would let me I would like to take you out. Would you like to go on a date with me?" he asked sheepishly.

Marinette nearly tackled him with another hug. He was so sweet. She didn't know it was possible to smile as big as she was now, she couldn't help it. She loved everything about this weird flirty model kitty.

"I would love that more than anything, Adrien." She said.

When they both realized it was extremely late and Adrien should probably head home, Marinette went out to the balcony with him.

"Claws out!" he said.

Marinette glanced away as the bright green light enveloped Adrien and when she looked back, Cat Noir stood in his place. She walked over to give him a hug good-bye.

"I love you Marinette Dupain-Cheng." He said into her hair.

"I love you too Cat." She said stepping back.

"And I plan to do everything in my power to deserve it. Good night, Princess." He said bowing and kissing her hand.

"Good night Cat." She said.

He took off into the night and Marinette watched while she wondered if her heart would ever stop beating so loud and quick ever again.

The End

 ** _Authors Notes_**

 ** _Well guys, this was it. I hope you all enjoyed the story. Please leave a comment to let me know what you thought. I hope the end wasn't too much of a letdown to anyone. I rarely finish stories but all your support encouraged me to finish it. I would like to thank everyone who ever commented or even just read my story but there are two people specifically that I want to thank._**

 ** _Mayuralover, you've been here since the beginning and have constantly shown your support by commenting on nearly every chapter. It's meant a lot to see that every chapter was getting some love even when I thought it wasn't a very good chapter. I always looked forward to seeing a comment from you. I appreciated it so much._**

 ** _AmericanDemigod, you're a more recent reader but you also have commented on nearly every chapter. It was a pleasant surprise to see comments on older chapters just as a reminder that I was still getting new readers. I really appreciated it._**

 ** _With that said I really appreciate all my readers and any support you all have given me. I hope I returned the favor by giving you all an enjoyable story with a satisfying ending._**


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